Kara Odom Walker
 | This article's lead section may be too long. (October 2023) |
Kara Odom Walker MD | |
|---|---|
 Walker at TANF Awards of Excellence in 2018 | |
| Secretary of Delaware Department of Health and Social Services | |
| In office February 6, 2017 – June 2020 | |
| Governor | John Carney |
| Personal details | |
Nemours Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children | |
Kara Odom Walker, MD, MPH, MSHS is a health policy leader and serves as the Chief Population Health Officer at
Dr. Walker also leads Nemours Delaware Valley primary care network and its Value-Based Services Organization. She collaborates with Nemours operational leaders and shares accountability for managed care initiatives, including medically complex case management, school-based wellness programs and other services for specific populations.
From February 2017 to June 2020, she served as Secretary of the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services. Prior to holding that position, she served as the Deputy Chief Science Officer at the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) In 2018, she was elected to the National Academy of Medicine.
Education
Odom Walker attended high school in
Odom Walker then moved to California to complete her residency training specializing in family medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. She then became a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Fellow at the University of California, Los Angeles, where she also completed a Masters of Health Services Research in 2009.[1] During her time there, she studied how hospital closures impacted underserved minority populations in Los Angeles.[3]
Career
In 2010, Odom Walker became an Assistant Clinical Professor in Family and Community Medicine at University of California, San Francisco, researching health disparities and working to understand how best to provide high quality, coordinated care with patients' needs in mind.[4] In 2012, Odom Walker became a Program Officer at the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) and became Deputy Chief Science Officer in 2013. After 5 years of service at PCORI, Odom Walker transitioned to public service.
On February 6, 2017, Odom Walker was sworn in as Secretary of the Delaware Department of Health and Services, working under the administration of Governor
In June 2020, Odom Walker stepped down from her post as Delaware Health Secretary to begin a position at the Washington branch of Nemours Children's Health System as Senior Vice President and Chief Health Officer.[8]
Awards & honors
- Elected Fellow, National Academy of Medicine, 2018[9]
References
- ^ a b "Office of the Secretary: Secretary Kara Odom Walker's Biography - Delaware Health and Social Services - State of Delaware". www.dhss.delaware.gov. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
- ^ "DHSS Secretary Dr. Kara Odom Walker Elected to Prestigious National Academy of Medicine". State of Delaware News. 2018-10-15. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
- ^ "Kara Odom Walker, MD, MPH, MSHS". www.pcori.org. 2012-10-22. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
- ^ Kavanagh, Anne (23 March 2012). "Family Medicine Residency at SFGH: Past, Present and Future". Family Medicine Residency at SFGH: Past, Present and Future | UC San Francisco. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
- ^ "5Q: Secretary of DHSS Dr. Kara Odom Walker". Delaware Business Times. 2018-02-22. Retrieved 2020-06-11.
- ^ McAneny, D. J. (27 March 2020). "'A wake-up call' | Carney, Odom Walker address statewide coronavirus concerns following 1st deaths in Delaware". WDEL 101.7FM. Retrieved 2020-06-11.
- ^ Odom Walker, Kara (2020-03-25). "Delaware DHSS secretary: Half of state positives are 18-49. We ALL must isolate ourselves". delawareonline. Retrieved 2020-06-11.
- ^ "Delaware Health Secretary Dr. Kara Odom Walker steps down from post". whyy. 17 June 2020. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
- ^ "Walker elected to National Academy of Medicine". Dover Post. 2018-10-15. Retrieved 2020-06-10.