OAKBROOK TERRACE, IL – Former General Electric executive Charles R. Buck, Jr., Sc.D., has been appointed as a Public Member to The Joint Commission Board of Commissioners and long term care expert Connie S. March has been appointed as the Board’s Long Term Care Representative.

Charles R. Buck, Jr., Sc.D.’s work focuses on creating a consumer-centric health care market that connects active consumers with providers committed to process excellence. Dr. Buck also serves provider organizations interested in applying the lessons of Six Sigma as an institutional business strategy. His clients have included health plans, employers and start-up companies.

Connie S. March, is president and CEO of Provena Senior Services in suburban Chicago. Her appointment is part of an ongoing effort to build and strengthen relationships between long term care organizations and The Joint Commission. March has strategic leadership and operations oversight for both Provena Senior Services and Provena Home Care’s 26 sites which include nursing homes, housing, home health, pharmacy, and adult and child day care centers located in Illinois and Indiana. A registered nurse for more than 30 years, March has led Provena Senior Services and its predecessor organization since 1987. She was previously certified as an adult and geriatric nurse practitioner and has worked in various education, clinical, consultation and administration positions in nursing.

“Chuck brings to the Board a vast amount of experience in business with process involvement strategies and tools such as Six Sigma. Connie holds a wealth of expertise from clinical, academic and administrative roles in long term care,” says Mark R. Chassin, M.D., M.P.P., M.P.H., president, The Joint Commission. “Their knowledge, experience, and insights will serve the Board well and enhance The Joint Commission’s commitment to safe, high-quality care for all patients.”

Buck was previously responsible for General Electric’s health benefits and the purchasing of $1 billion worth of health services for approximately 600,000 GE employees, dependents and retirees under age 65. Later, he was responsible for leading GE’s health care quality, “E”-health, and strategic benchmarking initiatives, including the application of the GE-wide Six Sigma Quality Program, to 50-plus external health care suppliers and 100 in-house medical treatment sites. Prior to his work at GE, Buck was executive director of the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Secretary of the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene for the State of Maryland and Director of Planning for the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions. Buck served on the Institute of Medicine (IOM) Committee on the Quality of Health Care in America that produced the “To Err is Human” and “Crossing the Quality Chasm” reports. He also served on the IOM committee focused on the roles of government in fostering improved health delivery quality.

Buck earned a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from Northwestern University, masters’ degrees in public health and in industrial engineering from the University of Missouri, and a doctorate degree from the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health.

March is past board chair of Life Services Network (LSN), the Illinois not-for-profit association for aging senior services; a member of the House of Delegates and board of the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (AAHSA); and was a member of the AAHSA task force on surveys and certification. She received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing from the University of Illinois and has authored various articles and books pertaining to long term care. She also serves on the Continuing Care Committee of the Catholic Health Association.

The 29-member Board of Commissioners serves as The Joint Commission’s governing body. Its composition includes representatives from each of The Joint Commission’s corporate members from the American Hospital Association, American Medical Association, American College of Physicians, American College of Surgeons, and American Dental Association, six public members, one at-large representative of the nursing profession, and Joint Commission president, Mark R. Chassin, M.D., M.P.P., M.P.H.