Rachel Bernard, MD, MPH, FACP, Selected for National Academy of Medicine Inaugural State Health Policy Fellowship

Medical College of Wisconsin Department of Medicine Assistant Professor Rachel Bernard, MD, MPH, FACP, has been selected for the inaugural class of fellows in a pilot National Academy of Medicine (NAM) State Health Policy Fellowship (SHPF) program funded in part by the Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin Endowment (AHW).

Dr. Bernard will spend a year embedded in Wisconsin’s executive government branch offices as a contributor to the development and implementation of state health policies and programs. The SHPF is the first nationally coordinated fellowship focused on health policy and capacity for interstate training and knowledge sharing. AHW is funding the followship in Wisconsin for its pilot year.

Most health policies and programs are implemented at the state level and have significant impacts on health outcomes. By placing health professionals in state government offices, the SHPF program will provide subject matter expertise and context to local policy deliberations. In turn, fellows will learn to participate fully in state policy and political processes and obtain the skills and knowledge necessary to influence policy throughout their careers. The SHPF model is based on the NAM’s premier RWJF Health Policy Fellows program, which has been placing exceptional health professionals in federal policy making offices since 1973.  

“The Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin Endowment is proud to connect the frontline experience and expertise of Dr. Bernard with Wisconsin’s health policymakers,” said AHW Director Jesse Ehrenfeld, MD, MPH. “This new National Academy of Medicine fellowship recognizes the importance of relationship building and collaboration between health providers and government officials to identify and implement the systems changes needed to achieve broad, statewide health improvement.”

AHW is also funding a NAM Fellowship to Advance State Health Policy for a second two-year term. This term’s fellowship was awarded earlier this month to Yohualli B. Anaya, MD, MPH, associate professor in the department of family medicine and community health at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. The 2022-2024 NAM Fellowship to Advance State Health Policy went to Medical College of Wisconsin Associate Professor and Milwaukee County Director of Medical Services Ben Weston, MD, MPH.

Read more about the NAM State Health Policy Fellowship (SHPF) program here.