The Northwest Center for Outcomes Research in Older Adults (NW Center), located within VA Puget Sound in Seattle, conducts innovative research to generate relevant new knowledge, develops rigorous new research methods and provides high caliber training in health services research and supports VA policy makers in a rapidly changing health care environment. The research objectives of the Center are to provide information to improve the delivery of health services to veterans and to contribute to scientific progress in the field of health services research by focusing on four emphasis areas: 

   Management of Chronic Disease in Primary and Specialty Care 
   Preservation of Independence in Older Adults
   Evaluation of Alternative Delivery Systems
   Basic Methodology in Health Services Research

In 2012, the NW Center supported 27 Core and Affiliate Investigators, oversaw 81 unique research projects, and managed $13 million in funds from federal and non-federal sources. 

The NW Center is leading operational quality improvement and assessment programs including the PACT (Patient Aligned Care Team) Demonstration Lab Coordinating Center and a joint assessment of the VA SCAN-ECHO program (Specialty Care Access Network - Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) with collaborators from the Denver HSR&D program.    

The NW Center maintains a strong academic affiliation with the University of Washington School of Medicine and School of Public Health and continues to collaborate closely with VA researchers at the HSR&D Denver program and local non-VA researchers at Group Health Cooperative and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.  The NW Center is a national Center of Excellence for Health Services Research and Development (HSR&D), a service within the VA Office of Research and Development.  

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