MUA/P Interest Group Session: CEO Perspectives on Rural and Underserved GME - COMPLETED

Ted Epperly, MD, is the president and CEO of Full Circle Health (formerly Family Medicine Residency of Idaho), a large Federally Qualified Teaching Health Center comprising nine FQHC clinics, four ACGME-accredited family medicine residency programs, one pediatrics residency, six fellowships, and a residency program in pharmacy and psychology. He earned a bachelor’s degree in biology and anthropology from Utah State University in 1976 and graduated from the University of Washington School of Medicine in 1980. Dr. Epperly completed his family medicine residency at Madigan Army Medical Center, Fort Lewis, Washington, in 1983, followed by a faculty development fellowship at the University of North Carolina in 1986. He also earned a Certificate of Added Qualifications (CAQ) in geriatrics. Dr. Epperly retired as a colonel from the United States Army in July 2001 after 21 years of service. He is a past president and board chair of the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) and a former member of the ACGME Board of Directors, which oversees residency and fellowship training for more than 150,000 residents and fellows across all specialties in the United States. He currently serves as the Graduate Medical Education (GME) coordinator for the state of Idaho and authored Idaho’s ten-year GME plan to build a robust and sustainable training system. Dr. Epperly has published more than 60 articles and book chapters and is a strong advocate for family medicine education, research, and rural and underserved health care. He has been nominated for membership in the National Academy of Medicine. His award-winning book Fractured: America’s Broken Health Care System and What Must Be Done to Heal It offers insight into the U.S. health care system and is available on Amazon. His second book, Preparing for the Next Global Outbreak: Lessons from the Schoolhouse to the White House, was published by Johns Hopkins University Press and is also available on Amazon. Dr. Epperly and his wife, Lindy, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in September 2024. They have two sons. Outside of medicine, his interests include golf, nature, fly-fishing, reading, and collecting sports memorabilia.

Chad Harris, MD serves as CEO of Natividad Medical Center, a county-operated Level II trauma center in Salinas, California, that provides high-quality care to all in Monterey County, especially to vulnerable populations in its rural and urban communities. He joined Natividad in 2011, initially serving as a hospitalist and HIV provider. He has since held the roles of Chief Medical Information Officer, Chief of Medical Staff, and Chief Medical Officer for Quality Assurance. Dr. Harris is board certified by the American Board of Family Medicine and the American Board of Preventive Medicine in clinical informatics. He earned his medical degree from Virginia Commonwealth University and completed his family medicine internship and residency at Contra Costa Regional Medical Center. In addition, he has served as a physician at a federally qualified health center and in emergency departments in Chicago and at Contra Costa Regional Medical Center in Martinez, California. He continues to practice at Natividad and has volunteered as a physician in Nicaragua and Oaxaca. Dr. Harris currently serves on the board of the California Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems and on the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education’s advisory group for medically underserved areas and populations.