Dr. Dan Derksen

Health policy expert Dan Derksen, MD, the Walter H. Pearce Endowed Chair and professor of public health policy and management at the University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, will be the guest speaker at the Partners in Public Health Luncheon on Thursday, Apr. 27, at the Arizona Inn, 2200 E. Elm St., Tucson, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Dr. Derksen will share current health policy data at the state and federal levels and discuss the proposed changes to the Affordable Care Act.

As director of the Arizona Center for Rural Health, Dr. Derksen oversees the state Office of Rural Health, the Rural Hospital Flexibility Program, the Small Rural Hospital Improvement Program and the Navigator Consortium.

Dr. Derksen completed a Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellowship in 2008 with U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman. He researched and drafted federal legislative provisions to improve the nation’s supply and distribution of the health workforce that were included in Title V of the “Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act.”

As principal investigator of state, federal, private foundation and grants in excess of $50 million over his academic career, Dr. Derksen works to improve health insurance coverage and access to high-quality health care, emphasizing community-based service-learning models in rural areas.

Tickets to the Partners in Public Health Luncheon are $35. To RSVP please contact Denise Guerrero at dhguerrero@email.arizona.edu or (520) 626-8921.

Proceeds from the event support the Boys’ Club, a bullying prevention program in Tucson local schools. Partners in Public Health (PIPH) is a group dedicated to supporting the mission of the University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health: eradicating health disparities and promoting healthy people and communities. Partners in Public Health also focus on supporting public health initiatives through advocacy, educational programming and outreach.