Board member profile: Alan Melnick, MD, MPH, CPH
Dr. Alan Melnick has made community health his business. As health officer for Clark and three other counties in southwest Washington, one of his priorities is helping people access health care.
As a professional, he contributes his experience and expertise in medicine and public health to a number of nonprofit boards, including Free Clinic of Southwest Washington and Project Access NOW, whose missions he finds to be aligned and mutually supportive.
“I’m working to ensure everyone enjoys comprehensive access to quality care,” Dr. Melnick said. “Project Access NOW helps us get there.”
Originally a family physician, Dr. Melnick became interested in health on a broader basis. Ten years practicing medicine helped him transition to preventing disease and promoting health on the community scale. He has been a health officer in a number of Portland/Vancouver metropolitan area counties for twenty years.
You could say preventive medicine and public health issues are Dr. Melnick’s life. The National Board of Public Health Examiners and the Washington State Association of Local Public Health Officials count him as their board member. He’s also active at the National Association of County and City Health Officials and the Washington State Health Officers’ Forum (as Chair).
By his own admission, being on the Project Access NOW makes Dr. Melnick feel good. “I appreciate the passion and commitment everybody brings to the table,” he said. “The board comprises people from different sectors of the health care community. It’s a professionally diverse group joining forces to pursue the mission of improving health care access. It’s transparent, equitable, and collaborative. And we get a great return on investment.”
At the same time, Dr. Melnick expressed “hope for a day that we won’t have a need for Project Access NOW, a day when we will have universal access to care and adequate capacity.” But, he acknowledged, “we’re going to be around for a while.”
(January 2010)
