Dana Hargunani, MD, MPH, will become OHA’s chief medical officer effective Jan. 16.
Hargunani brings 16 years of experience as a pediatrician and public health professional to the position. She is recognized by colleagues as a respected leader who is passionate about designing and implementing innovative strategies for improving health outcomes and reducing health disparities.
In her new position, Hargunani will use her medical experience to help inform health care policy and strategy for OHA.
“I am happy to have Dana join us,” said Patrick Allen, Director of the Oregon Health Authority. “She brings a wealth of experience to help us with continued health care transformation in Oregon.”
She comes to OHA from Saltbox Health Strategies, where she works as a health policy consultant. Prior to Saltbox, she was chief executive officer for the Oregon Public Health Institute, and assistant professor of pediatrics and chief resident of pediatrics at Oregon Health & Science University. She will continue to work part-time as a pediatrician at the Children’s Community Clinic.
This will be Hargunani’s second stint at OHA. From October 2011 to July 2015 she served as the agency’s child health director.
In her previous tenure at OHA, Hargunani led policy development pertaining to youth and children. She informed the development and implementation of OHA’s coordinated care model and served as an advisor to Oregon’s Patient-Centered Primary Care Home Program and the state’s health quality metrics.
Hargunani earned her Bachelor of Arts in molecular biology at Princeton University, her Doctor of Medicine at Georgetown University School of Medicine and her Master of Public Health at Portland State University.
Hargunani succeeds Jim Rickards, MD, who left OHA in June.
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