President Obama Picks Prominent Nurse to Lead HRSA:
Dr. Mary Wakefield, Director of the Center for Rural Health at the University of North Dakota, has been appointed to oversee the Health Resources and Services Administration, which helps to deliver health care to those who are uninsured and underserved by our current health care system. Dr. Wakefield most recently served as the Associate Dean for Rural Health at the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences, where she was a tenured professor and Director of the Center for Rural Health. Dr. Wakefield has expertise in rural health care, quality and patient safety, Medicare payment policy, workforce issues, and public policy. She has authored many articles and columns on health policy and is on the editorial board of a number of professional journals. The EMSC reauthorization bill, the Wakefield Act, was named after Dr. Wakefield's family. Dr. Wakefield has been tremendously supportive of the EMSC program in the past, and moderated a 2007 Congressional briefing on the program.