Shereef Elnahal
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Shereef Elnahal is a physician and currently the 21st Commissioner of Health for the New Jersey Department of Health in the State of New Jersey. He is serving in the Cabinet of New Jersey Governor Philip D. Murphy.
During his tenure, Dr. Elnahal has focused on several public health priorities: expanding access to women's health and family planning services; reducing disparities in maternal and infant health outcomes; improving the state's psychiatric hospitals; fighting the opioid epidemic through expansion of prevention, treatment, and harm reduction; and expanding the state's medical marijuana program.
His efforts on the opioid epidemic include expansion of syringe access and harm reduction in NJ.[1], new funding to connect substance use disorder providers to electronic health records and a statewide health information exchange[2], and reducing regulatory barriers to medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for addiction treatment[3].
Under his tenure, Governor Murphy also restored state funding to family planning agencies in New Jersey, which were line-item vetoed by Governor Chris Christie, Governor Murphy's predecessor, for seven straight budgets. Under Commissioner Elnahal, the Department then disbursed these funds in grants that resulted in 10,000 more women served, 80,000 additional STD tests administered, and many additional clinic hours and staff[4].
Elnahal has also collaborated with NJ First Lady Tammy Murphy on maternal and infant health initiatives, including her Nurture NJ[5].
Dr. Elnahal also expanded provider participation in the NJ Health Information Network, a statewide health information exchange. Over 60 hospitals, 3 federally qualified health centers, and 6,000 physicians joined this network since the Murphy administration began, tying important sources of hospital funding like charity care to requirements to join the program[6]
Under his leadership, the Department of Health significantly expanded New Jersey's medical marijuana program, more than doubling the number of patients served, doubling the number of dispensaries, and expanding the number of physicians in the program[7]
Before his tenure as NJ Health Commissioner, Dr. Elnahal was the chief quality and safety officer of the Veterans Health Administration in the US Department of Veterans Affairs[8]. He lives with his wife and child in Princeton, NJ.
References
- ^ N.J. to launch local needle exchanges, enhance services at current sites. "WHYY". Retrieved May 13th, 2019
- ^ NJ TO FUND BETTER ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORDS FOR ADDICTION SERVICES. "NJ Spotlight". Retrieved May 13th, 2019
- ^ Should behavioral health patients be able to get treatment in primary care settings? Elnahal says, ‘Yes’. "ROI-NJ". Retrieved May 13th, 2019
- ^ Murphy: State sees increase in women’s access to health care after funding is restored. "News 12 NJ". Retrieved May 13th, 2019
- ^ NJ’S FIRST LADY LAUNCHES CAMPAIGN TO LOWER MATERNAL MORTALITY. "NJ Spotlight." Retrieved May 13th, 2019
- ^ Charity care funding to remain unchanged at $262M — but, this year, it comes with requirements. "ROI-NJ". Retrieved May 13th, 2019
- ^ Murphy says medical marijuana program adds 25K patients. "NJTV". Retrieved May 14th, 2019
- ^ Office of the Commissioner. "NJ Department of Health". Retrieved May 13th, 2019