Nashville Area Indian Health Service 2011 Annual Report

CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER
Area Activities & Accomplishments
Consistent with the IHS Director’s priority of improving quality of and access
to care, the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) maintained visibility in the field
throughout 2011, conducting 19 site visits for technical assistance and program
reviews, and providing 156 hours of clinical care to patients. Additionally, he
led the Area’s quality improvement support team efforts, helping to recruit seven
Nashville Area sites for participation in Improving Patient Care-3 (IPC-3), and
adding two additional members to the team from USET.
His emphasis on quality improvement also included the development and
facilitation of Nashville Area provider trainings for continuing medical education
credits, as well as utilization of the tele-health partnership with the University of
Miami to improve access to dermatology care.
Serving as Acting Director of the Office of Public Health, the Chief Medical
Officer recruited and filled the position of Area of Chief Nursing/HPDP vacancy.
He also served as supervisor of the Manlius CHS Program (including the new
Tuscarora CHS program), the Unity Healing Center, and the Catawba, Micmac,
and Mashpee Wampanoag Service Units.
Did you know?
The Nashville Area
IHS partners with the
University of Miami to
provide tele-dermatology
services to Area Tribes.
National Participation
The CMO’s visibility reached beyond the Nashville Area, through his participation
in national workgroups (he was even elected to the position of Vice-Chair of the
National Council of CMOs by his peers), trainings and conferences as an invited
speaker, and during regional consultation meetings and collaborations as the
Nashville Area representative.
Indeed, 2011 was a busy and successful year for the Nashville Area Chief
Medical Officer.
The Office of the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) is responsible for the coordination of medical care within
the Nashville Area. Directly overseeing three IHS-direct programs, the CMO also provides consultation
in the areas of physician and mid-level provider recruitment, medico-legal issues, and Contract Health
Services to the Nashville Area Office and IHS, Tribal, and Urban programs within the Area.
56 www.ihs.gov/Nashville Nashville Area Indian Health Service