Mei Wa Kwong Named New Executive Director of PHI’s Center for Connected Health Policy

Mei Wa Kwong has been named the new Executive Director for the Center for Connected Health Policy (CCHP), a program at the Public Health Institute. Ms. Kwong has been serving as Interim Executive Director since the sudden passing of CCHP’s previous executive director, Mario Gutierrez, in August of 2017. Prior to that, Ms. Kwong was CCHP’s Policy Advisor and the Project Director of the National Telehealth Policy Resource Center.

Ms. Kwong has been with CCHP since 2010. She heads numerous projects for the organization, is co-creator and co-author of CCHP’s 50 State Telehealth Laws and Reimbursement Policies Report, assists federal and state policy makers on policy issues, and is a recognized national expert on telehealth policy. Prior to joining CCHP, Ms. Kwong was the Policy Analyst for Children’s Home Society of California where she worked on education and early childhood issues. She was recognized for her work by the Child Development Policy Institute. She received her Juris Doctorate from the George Washington University Law School and her undergraduate degree from the George Washington University School of International Affairs.

“No one can ever truly replace Mario who did so much not only for the telehealth field but the underserved and rural communities. As the new executive director, my plan is to continue on with the work Mario started to ensure telehealth can be utilized to provide services in the best way possible to those who need it,” said Ms. Kwong.

The Center for Connected Health Policy is the federally designated National Telehealth Policy Resource Center. CCHP seeks to advance state and national telehealth policy to promote improvements in health systems and greater health equity. In its work as the federally designated National Telehealth Policy Resource Center, CCHP provides technical assistance to twelve regional telehealth resource centers nationwide. CCHP was created in 2008 by the California Health Care Foundation, which remains its lead funder. CCHP is a program of the Public Health Institute.