Acknowledgments

This Resource Guide was prepared for the Agency for Healthcare Research Quality (AHRQ) by Rosanna M. Coffey, Ph.D., and Kelly McDermott, M.A, The Medstat Group, Inc., and Trudi L. Matthews, M.A., The Council of State Governments. The idea for the Resource Guide belongs to Denise Remus, Ph.D., R.N. and other AHRQ staff who strive to move research into the practice of health care and health care policy. Dwight McNeil, Ph.D., AHRQ Task Leader, and Edward Kelley, Ph.D., Director of the National Healthcare Quality Report, guided this work and set the standard for its quality. Numerous people contributed to the concept by sharing information, serving on focus groups, and reading multiple drafts. We acknowledge the generous consultations and contributions of:

• Four Partners in the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project from both State hospital associations and State government agencies (Vi Naylor, Georgia Hospital Association; Jerry O'Keefe, Massachusetts Division of Health Care Finance and Policy and Department of Public Health; Mark Sonneborn, Michigan Health and Hospital Association; and Gary Blair, Washington State Department of Health).
• Members of the Council of State Governments, who served as focus group members (Representative Mary Skinner, Washington; Representative Greg Jolivette, Ohio; Kurt Knickrehm, Director, Arkansas Department of Human Services; Assemblyman Felix Ortiz, New York; Senator Linda Higgins, Minnesota; Jan Norman, Manager, Diabetes Control Program, Washington State Department of Health; Senator Larry Salmans, Kansas).
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Diabetes Translation staff who provided suggestions and important insights on quality improvement activities of the States and the CDC (Frank Vinicor, Michael Engelgau, Russell Sniegowski, and David Guthrie). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention staff who provided comments on a prior draft. Representatives of the American Diabetes Association (Stewart Perry, Tom Boyer, Nathaniel Clark, M.D., and Ann Albright, Ph.D., R.D.)
• State and Federal officials who provided personal stories, program background and other information (Governor Mike Huckabee, Arkansas; Representative Dan Bosley, Massachusetts; Representative Fran Wendelboe, New Hampshire; Dr. Kimberlydawn Wisdom, Surgeon General of the State of Michigan; Martha Roberts and Laurel Reger of the Minnesota Diabetes Prevention and Control Program (DPCP); Jo Anderson of the Missouri DPCP; Janet Reese of the North Carolina DPCP; Dr. Lawrence Harkless, Chairman of the Texas Diabetes Council; Pat Zapp of the Wisconsin DPCP).
• Sally Sue Brown, formerly of The Council of State Governments, who provided research assistance for the Resource Guide.