1. Shereef Elnahal was born on June 5,1985 and is an American physician who was most recently the current United States Under Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Health.
17 Facts About Shereef Elnahal
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Shereef Elnahal previously served as an Assistant Deputy Under Secretary for Health for Quality, Safety and Value from 2016 to 2018.
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In November 2020, Elnahal was named a volunteer member of the Joe Biden presidential transition Agency Review Team to support transition efforts related to the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.
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Shereef Elnahal was confirmed to his position as Undersecretary on July 22,2022, and was sworn in on the same day.
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Shereef Elnahal resigned on January 20,2025, upon the inauguration of President Donald J Trump.
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Shereef Elnahal is the son of physicians who moved to the United States from Egypt.
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Shereef Elnahal grew up in Linwood and Galloway Township and attended St Augustine Preparatory School before graduating from Mainland Regional High School in 2003.
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Shereef Elnahal was appointed to the White House Fellows program by President Barack Obama in 2015.
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Shereef Elnahal then served as the Assistant Deputy Under Secretary for Health for Quality, Safety and Value from 2016 to 2018 in the United States Department of Veterans Affairs from 2016 to 2018.
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Shereef Elnahal was nominated in January 2018 to serve in the Cabinet of New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy.
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Shereef Elnahal was approved by the New Jersey Senate on March 8,2018 and sworn in on April 2,2018.
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Shereef Elnahal is the first Muslim-American to serve in the cabinet.
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In order address the opioid epidemic, Shereef Elnahal's efforts included expansion of syringe access and harm reduction, new funding to connect substance use disorder providers to electronic health records and a statewide health information exchange, and reducing regulatory barriers to medication-assisted treatment for addiction treatment.
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On June 24,2019, Shereef Elnahal authorized NJ's paramedics to administer buprenorphine in the field after naloxone administration at the time of overdose.
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Shereef Elnahal has collaborated with NJ First Lady Tammy Murphy on maternal and infant health initiatives, including her Nurture NJ.
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Shereef Elnahal expanded provider participation in the NJ Health Information Network, a statewide health information exchange.
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In March 2022, President Joe Biden nominated Shereef Elnahal to serve as Under Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Health.