Melissa M. Bottrell, MPH, PhD: Chief, IntegratedEthics

Since coming to the Ethics Center in 2003, Melissa M. Bottrell, MPH, PhD, has played a significant role in design, development, and implementation of IntegratedEthics materials, particularly in the areas of Ethical Leadership and Preventive Ethics. As Chief for IntegratedEthics she now leads the development and implementation IntegratedEthics across VHA. As a contributing member of the Ethics Center’s ethics evaluation group, she leads projects to evaluate the quality of informed consent practices in VHA and the implementation of the IntegratedEthics Initiative. By background, Dr. Bottrell is a health services researcher who focuses on practical approaches to problems that intersect bioethics, health system quality, and public policy. Prior to joining the Center, she directed research projects to improve the quality of hospital geriatric nursing care, enhance end-of-life care in nursing homes, and examine hospital informed consent policies. She also investigated how regulatory processes governing nursing homes can inhibit quality end-of-life care and consulted on policy to improve nursing home quality in Florida. Dr. Bottrell has numerous publications, including three edited books and articles on informed consent, geriatrics, and end-of-life care. She received her PhD in Public Administration from New York University and her MPH from Boston University.