Ann Sheehy, MD, MS, professor, Hospital Medicine, will leave the University of Wisconsin to take the role of chief medical officer (CMO) and Director of the Office of Planning, Analysis and Evaluation for the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) on September 23.

The HRSA, one of thirteen operating agencies of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, seeks to improve health outcomes and health equity for geographically isolated, economically or medically vulnerable populations.

Dr. Sheehy served as chief of the Division of Hospital Medicine from 2010 to 2023, when she assumed the role of UW Health Senior Medical Director of Population Health and UW Health ACO President.

"As division chief, Dr. Sheehy built a team known for its exceptional clinical service, teamwork, and sense of community," says Lynn Schnapp, MD, George R. and Elaine Love Professor and department chair. "The division continues to thrive thanks to the strong foundation she established. Her dedication to advocacy and public policy will only be amplified in her new role, and I am excited for both her future and the positive impact she will have on healthcare as a whole." 

As a clinician and researcher, Dr. Sheehy’s career has largely been defined by her tireless work in the areas of population health, health equity, and health policy—with a particular focus on how policies impact the most disadvantaged Medicare beneficiaries.

"I have always believed that clinicians should be engaged in health policy to improve care for our patients," she says. “This role presents a wonderful opportunity to work on so many of the same issues I care about, but on a national level."

Her expertise led her to the halls of the U.S. Congress, where she testified in both the House of Representatives and the Senate on short-stay hospitalization issues in the Medicare program, and served as pro bono expert witness for the plaintiffs in Alexander v. Azar, a federal case advocating for Medicare beneficiary rights to appeal when hospitalized in outpatient (observation) status.

She was also a 2021-22 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Policy Fellow in the Office of the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and with the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation.

Of her tenure at UW, Dr. Sheehy says: “I have been incredibly fortunate to call UW home for the past 19 years. I will carry with me so many of the experiences and lessons learned here in Wisconsin."

Congratulations, Dr. Sheehy!

Banner: file photo of Dr. Sheehy. Credit: Clint Thayer/Department of Medicine.