HHS Appoints Jane E. Carreiro, DO, Anne E. Musser, DO, and Sandra M. Snyder, DO, to Primary Care Training Committee

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Christine DeCarlo
Advocacy and Public Affairs Manager
Office of Government Relations
(202) 603-1026
cdecarlo@aacom.org

(Washington, DC) -  The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar, II, has appointed American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM) nominees Jane E. Carreiro, DO, Vice President for Health Affairs and Dean of the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine (UNE COM), and Anne E. Musser, DO, Medical Director of the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium and Community Health Aide Program, to serve on the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Advisory Committee on Training in Primary Care Medicine and Dentistry (ACTPCMD). Sandra M. Snyder, DO, Chair-Elect of Assembly of Osteopathic Graduate Medical Educators and Program Director of the Cleveland Clinic Family Medicine Residency, Center for Family Medicine, has also been appointed to serve on the ACTPCMD alongside Drs. Carreiro and Musser. The ACTPCMD last convened on August 4, 2020.

Drs. Carreiro, Musser, and Snyder’s appointments ensure that the osteopathic voice continues to be well-represented on the ACTPCMD. For the past four years, three osteopathic physicians have served on the committee. This includes AACOM nominee Thomas E. McWilliams, DO, who most currently served as Advisor to the President of A.T. Still University of Health Sciences, and recently completed his tenure as ACTPCMD Chair.

The COVID-19 pandemic has heightened the need for thoughtful, evaluated measures to inform federal policies and programs impacting all areas of health care, including primary care. Drs. Carreiro,  Musser, and Snyder bring extensive experience in primary care practice and medical education to their advisory committee positions and will serve as important voices representing osteopathic medical education on the ACTPCMD.

During her tenure at UNE COM, which is consistently recognized for national leadership in primary care training, Dr. Carreiro spearheaded several interprofessional programs to expand medical and dental students’ clinical knowledge and skills across the disciplines in response to the severe shortage of dentists and primary care doctors in the rural northeast.

“I have been privileged to spend the last 30 years caring for underserved populations and training students to practice in underserved areas. I am honored to serve on the ACTPCMD at this critical time, and I look forward to working with colleagues on this committee to enhance primary care and dentistry training, and improve health outcomes for patients,” said Dr. Carreiro.

Dr. Musser has more than 30 years of experience as a private practice family physician and undergraduate and graduate medical educator. While serving as Program Director of Alaska Family Medicine Residency in Anchorage, Alaska, the state’s only residency program, Dr. Musser prepared family medicine resident physicians to practice in rural areas and other underserved communities, as well as with the Indian Health Service.

“It is an honor to be selected to serve on the ACTPCMD,” said Dr. Musser. “Most recently, I have been training family medicine residents to practice and to thrive (personally and professionally) by serving wonderfully diverse patient populations in a wide variety of underserved communities—urban, rural, and remote. Working with my colleagues on the ACTPCMD will provide an opportunity to share my experience to help to develop policies and programs that advance primary care in service to our communities."

“As a practicing osteopathic family medicine physician and passionate representative of the osteopathic graduate medical education community, I look forward to working with my fellow ACTPCMD appointees to advance the full continuum of primary care education and training,” said Dr. Snyder.

“As national leaders in primary care, the addition of Drs. Carreiro,  Musser, and Snyder to the ACTPCMD will greatly enhance the important work being done to improve our nation’s health care system,” said AACOM President and CEO, Robert A. Cain, DO, FACOI, FAODME. “We are very proud that the osteopathic philosophy continues to have a seat at this critical table, as we represent one-quarter of all medical students today.”

The ACTPCMD advises and makes recommendations to the HHS Secretary and congressional committees on medicine and dentistry policy and program development within the disciplines of family medicine, general internal medicine, general pediatrics, general dentistry, pediatric dentistry, and physician assistant programs.

*Updated 8/18/2020 to include Dr. Snyder’s appointment.