Mississippi Institute for Improvement of Geographic Minority Health

 

   

Warren_JonesWarren A. Jones, M.D., a family physician and retired Captain in the U.S. Navy, is the founding Executive Director of the Mississippi Institute for the Improvement of Geographical Minority Health Disparities at the University of Mississippi Medical Center.  He is also a Professor of Family Medicine and a Distinguished Professor of Health Policy and Senior Health Policy Advisor. Jones is also an assistant clinical professor of Family Medicine at Howard University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C.

He was most recently Executive Director of the Division of Medicaid in the Office of the Governor of Mississippi, the state’s health program for over 768,000 indigent Mississippians.  He serves on the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) Technical Advisory Group (TAG) to the Secretary of Health and Human Services.  He also serves as Chair Designee of the Advisory Council to the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NCMHD) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).  He also serves on the Board of Trustees for his Alma Mater, Dillard University in New Orleans, LA.

Dr. Jones is Past President of the American Academy of Family Physicians, a 94,300-member primary care specialty society. He has also served Chair of the AAFP's Board of Directors and President-elect of the Academy. He is also Chair of the Maternal Child Council, Past Chair of the Family Medicine Section and Aerospace & Military Medicine Section of the National Medical Association.  He also served on the Minority Affairs Governing Council for the American Medical Association.

Jones retired from the United States Navy and his position as the medical director of the over 10 million member TRICARE Military Health Program, the military's health insurance program in 2001. He previously served as director of medical and clinical services for the Pacific region of TRICARE coordinating care for U.S. service members and their families from Alaska to Madagascar.

Jones has served on the President’s Select Panel on Surviving and Living after Cancer, Chiropractic Implementation Committee for the U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs and on the Secretary’s Chiropractic Advisory Committee. In addition, Jones was a member of the Expert Panel for the Medicaid Disease Management Initiative for the Center for Health Care Strategies, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Kaiser Permanente Foundation.  He is a member of the Key Stakeholders Advisory Board to the Evidence Based Research Center for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).  He is currently a member or the National Advisory Board of the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease, the National Commission on Prevention Priorities, the Board of Directors of the Mississippi Diabetes Foundation and has previously served on the Board of the National Health Council and the National Advisory Council to Rewarding Results, an advisory panel to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the California Health Foundation which led to the development of the Pay for Performance initiative in health care.  He is also a member of the expert panel for the Innovations in Prevention Awards, sponsored by Health and Human Services Secretary, Tommy Thompson. He is a previous Associate Vice Chancellor for Multicultural Affairs at the University of Mississippi and past Director of the Mississippi Area Health Education Centers (AHEC).

Jones received his undergraduate degree in chemistry from Dillard University in New Orleans. He received his medical degree from Louisiana State University School of Medicine in 1978, and completed a family medicine residency at the Naval Hospital in Pensacola, Fla. Jones also earned a fellowship in Adolescent Medicine at the Naval Hospital in San Diego. Jones is a Fellow of the AAFP, an earned degree awarded to family physicians for distinguished service and continuing medical education.

Jones has extensive military and medical teaching experience, which includes serving as special assistant to the U.S. Navy Surgeon General for Physical Qualifications and Review, and was chair of the Department of Family Practice at the Naval Hospital in Charleston, S.C. He also served as director of residency training and director of undergraduate medical education in the Department of Family Practice at the Naval Hospital in Pensacola.

Jones has received numerous military honors including the Defense Superior Service Medal and the Navy Commendation Medal for superior performance. He received the Meritorious Service Medal three times.  He was recently honored as the Outstanding Black Educator in Mississippi by the Board of the Institutions of Higher Learning and has been awarded a National Role Model Award by Minority Access, Inc.