TN Department of Health assistant commissioner to begin new position Feb. 1, 2012
Dr. Cathy Taylor, DrPH, MSN, RN, has been named as the new dean of the Gordon E. Inman College of Health Sciences & Nursing at Belmont University. Taylor currently serves as the assistant commissioner for the Tennessee Department of Health’s Bureau of Health Services Administration where she oversees delivery of traditional public health and primary care services in 89 rural counties and contracted services with Tennessee’s six metropolitan health departments. Dr. Taylor will begin her new position at Belmont on Feb. 1, 2012.
“Belmont’s outstanding reputation for excellence and commitment to teaching and service makes this the perfect fit for me and the logical choice for students, faculty and partners dedicated to improving the health and wellbeing of our beautiful city and beyond,” said Taylor. “I am grateful for the opportunity to have served Tennesseans and the Department of Health, and I am honored to join the Belmont team at this time of extraordinary growth and potential to produce the next generation of exceptionally talented health care professionals.”
“Dr. Taylor has done excellent work for the Tennessee Department of Health and for the health of the citizens of Tennessee,” said Health Commissioner John Dreyzehner, MD, MPH. “We will miss her leadership, but we are excited for Dr. Taylor in her new role at Belmont University where she will stay nearby, grooming students for careers in population health in Tennessee and around the nation.”
As the chief academic and executive officer of Belmont’s College of Health Sciences & Nursing, Taylor will be responsible for the programmatic leadership, financial management, personnel administration and planning and development for the College.
Belmont Provost Dr. Thomas Burns said, “Dr. Taylor brings to this position a perfect combination of high-level healthcare experience, proven leadership ability and eager enthusiasm for educating tomorrow’s healthcare leaders. I am confident that her expertise and commitment will build on the College of Health Sciences and Nursing’s already exceptional quality and reputation.”
In her current position, Taylor has directed development and implementation of successful statewide tobacco cessation and diabetes prevention programs and increased public, private and academic partnerships aimed at improving the health of Tennesseans. As a consultant to China’s Ministry of Health, she contributed to the re-design of China’s rural health care delivery system. Prior to joining the Department of Health, Taylor chaired the board for the Tennessee Center for Diabetes Prevention and Health Improvement and served as an assistant professor of nursing at Vanderbilt University School of Nursing and as director of the Meharry-Vanderbilt Alliance Disease Management Program. She has held administrative and clinical positions at Alvin C. York VAMC, served in nursing director and supervisor positions at Fentress County Hospital, Middle Tennessee Medical Center and Hendersonville Community Hospital, and as a public health nurse in Fentress and Rutherford Counties. She has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications and is the recipient of a number of grants and awards.
Taylor earned a Doctor of Public Health degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She also holds a Master of Science in Nursing degree from the University of Tennessee-Memphis, a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Alabama-Huntsville and a Bachelor of Science degree from Middle Tennessee State University. In addition, she completed a post-doctoral fellowship at Vanderbilt University in 2005.
The Gordon E. Inman College of Health Sciences & Nursing is home to undergraduate programs in nursing and social work as well as graduate programs in nursing, occupational therapy, pharmacy and physical therapy. Each division holds national accreditation per its discipline-related accrediting body. The College currently has 510 undergraduate and 597 graduate students.
Featuring state-of-the-art facilities, the College of Health Sciences & Nursing seeks to prepare nursing, occupational therapy, pharmacy, physical therapy, and social work professionals for practice in a variety of health and social welfare settings. Graduates of the College of Health Sciences are sensitive to society’s increasing diversity and are prepared to meet client needs in these settings. The college’s goal is to prepare professionals who are caring, ethical, competent and progressive in their chosen fields of study.
