Biography

Dr. Reynolds is the founding executive director of Northern Counties Health Care, Inc. (NCHC), covering a three-county region known as the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. This not-for-profit network is comprised of six community health centers and two dental practices in Concord, Danville, Hardwick, Island Pond, and St. Johnsbury, as well as Caledonia Home Health Care and Hospice Agency. More than 20,000 Vermonters in this federally designated medically underserved area, half of whom receive Medicaid and Medicare, rely on NCHC as their medical care home. In many of the communities it serves, NCHC is the only source of comprehensive primary healthcare. "For nearly 30 years Vermont has benefited from David Reynolds' work as a tireless advocate on behalf of those who struggle the most in our communities," said Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.). "David has been nationally recognized for his work at Northern Counties Health Care, and I am incredibly pleased that students and faculty at The George Washington University will benefit from his expertise throughout the next year." Dr. Reynolds is a past recipient of a Pew Foundation Fellowship in Health Policy and an International Leadership Fellowship from the Kellogg Foundation. In addition to his position as executive director of NCHC, he serves as chair of Vermont's Medicaid Advisory Board and was a member of the state's Health Resource Allocation Plan (HRAP) advisory committee, which was charged with developing Vermont's healthcare plan aimed at improving healthcare quality and lowering costs for Vermonters. The health plan was officially adopted by Governor Jim Douglas on August 2, 2005. Dr. Reynolds has also served as president of the Bi-State Primary Care Association and the Vermont Assembly of Home Health Agencies, on whose boards he continues to serve. In 2004, he was inducted as one of the first members of the National Association of Community Health Center's Grassroots Advocacy Hall of Fame. Dan Hawkins, vice president for Federal, State and Public Affairs at the National Association of Community Health Centers notes that, "David has devoted his entire career and considerable energies to improving access to care for rural and underserved people, not only in Vermont but all across America. His vision of health centers as the model for primary care everywhere is an inspiration to all who work in community health." As a Distinguished Visitor in Health Policy, Dr. Reynolds will teach in the Department's masters and doctoral programs and will also lecture in law and policy while continuing in his current position with NCHC. He will also spend time with students and devote time to the Geiger Gibson History Project, an effort to chronicle the rich and varied history of health centers across the nation.