|
July 25, 2002
|
Contact:
HRSA Press Office
301-443-3376 |
HRSA Announces New Associate Administrators for Primary
Health
Care and Health Professions and Two New Office Directors
HRSA Administrator Elizabeth M. Duke today announced key changes in
the agency’s leadership team. New associate administrators were named
for primary health care and health professions along with two new office
directors. The changes become effective July 29.
- Dr. Sam S. Shekar, M.D., M.P.H., will be the new associate administrator
at the Bureau of Primary Health Care;
- Kerry P. Nesseler, RN, M.S., currently deputy associate administrator
for programs in HRSA’s Maternal and Child Health Bureau, will replace
Shekar as associate administrator at the Bureau of Health Professions;
- Jon L. Nelson, M.S., will become the new director of the Office
of Management and Program Support; and
- William D. Hobson, Jr., M.S., currently deputy director of the Bureau
of Primary Health Care, will replace Nelson as director of the Office
of Special Programs.
“President Bush has trusted HRSA to implement two Presidential Initiatives
-- the expansion of the Consolidated Health Centers network and the
reform and expansion of the National Health Service Corps,” said Dr.
Duke. “We are so fortunate to have people with the skills and
experience of these four to help lead this effort to get more direct
medical services to the millions of people we serve.”
As associate administrator for the Bureau of Primary Health Care, Shekar
will manage more than $1 billion in programs and services that provide
access to primary health care for America’s most vulnerable individuals
and families. He will also be charged with oversight of the President’s
health center expansion plan – a task that will be at the forefront
of bureau activities for the next five years.
Since May 21, 2000, Shekar has served as associate administrator for
the Bureau of Health Professions (BHPr). In this role, he was
responsible for strengthening the nation’s health care workforce through
improvements in education and training programs and through groundbreaking
workforce research and analysis.
Under Shekar's leadership, BHPr reorganized to include a transfer of
the National Health Service Corps from the Bureau of Primary Health
Care. This move put in a single bureau the entire spectrum of
HRSA’s recruitment, training, loan, scholarship and placement programs
for health professionals. He was also key in the development of
a new campaign – Kids Into Health Careers—to get students from kindergarten
through grade 12 interested in health careers. He came to HRSA
in 1998 to serve as associate administrator for field operations where
he restructured operations to focus on state and community health needs.
Shekar is a board certified fellow of the American College of Preventive
Medicine and earned his professional degrees from the University of
Michigan. He is also an Assistant Surgeon General with the rank
of Rear Admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps.
Nesseler will become the first nurse and the first woman to serve as
associate administrator for health professions. She will lead HRSA’s
efforts to address the nation’s health care workforce challenges through
a variety of programs that support education, training, recruitment,
placement and retention of physicians, nurses, dentists, public health
professionals, and other health providers. A primary focus of
this effort will be the design of strategies to address the national
nurse shortage—a top priority for HHS Secretary Thompson.
As deputy associate administrator for programs in MCHB, Nesseler serves
as principal advisor to the associate administrator, playing a key role
in the oversight of more than $900 million in programs and initiatives
that address many critical challenges in maternal and child health.
She came to HRSA in 1990 and has served in a variety of roles from nurse
consultant to her current position. During her tenure, she has
directed a number of key projects, including the development of the
agency’s first Title V block grant performance measures electronic reporting
system; the development of a national media campaign, in partnership
with AT&T, that successfully linked all 52 MCH toll-free hotlines;
and management of the National Abstinence Education Program.
Nesseler holds a bachelor of science degree in nursing from the University
of San Francisco and a master of science in nursing from the University
of Hawaii at Manoa. She is also a graduate of the Excellence in
Government Fellows Program and was a Primary Care Policy Fellow in the
U.S. Public Health Service. She holds the rank of captain
in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps.
As director of the Office of Management and Program Support (OMPS),
Nelson will be responsible for planning, directing, and coordinating
HRSA’s administrative activities in the areas of financial management,
grants and procurement management, human resources and development,
and management services. OMPS also provides management expertise,
advice, and support to the administrator in the areas of program and
policy execution.
Nelson has served as director of the Office of Special Programs since
1999 where he played a key role in the development of HHS policies that
direct the federal role in organ and tissue donation. From 1994-1997,
he served in HRSA’s HIV/AIDS Bureau’s Division of HIV Services where
he was responsible for health care grants, support services and new
drug therapies for people affected by the AIDS epidemic. And,
he has conducted policy analyses on an assortment of federal programs,
including development of loan underwriting risk analysis for the $8
billion hospital mortgage insurance program.
Nelson earned a bachelor of science degree from the University of Berkeley
and a master of science degree in engineering and health services research
from Stanford University.
Hobson takes over the Office of Special Programs where he will have
oversight of the agency’s transplantation program – a program of high
visibility in the Department and the nation. In April of last
year, Secretary Thompson launched the national Gift of Life Donation
Initiative to encourage more Americans to donate organs and tissue.
Hobson will also be responsible for the national Hill-Burton program
for uncompensated medical care, and the hospital mortgage insurance,
loan and construction grant programs.
With extensive experience in the design and management of urban and
rural community health projects, Hobson came to HRSA in 2000 to serve
as deputy director of the Bureau of Primary Health Care. Currently,
he serves as acting associate administrator of the bureau.
Before coming to HRSA, Hobson was research project director at the
University of Washington Human Services Policy Center focusing on innovative
child health programs. From 1977-1994, he was executive director
of Central Seattle Community Health Centers, and he served as president
of the National Association of Community Health Centers from 1986-1988.
Hobson earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Earlham College in
Richmond, Ind., and a master’s degree in environmental health from the
University of Cincinnati.
|
