John Gale

Mr. Gale has over a decade of experience in rural health and rural mental health research as well as sixteen years senior management experience in primary care, mental health, and substance abuse practices. He has published a number of articles, reports, and book chapters in the areas of rural mental health, safety net, primary care, and hospital issues. His work has included studies of the national Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Program, the informal safety net in rural communities, and the use of state health policy research to inform federal and state policy;  surveys of Rural Health Clinics; evaluations of the state Rural Hospital Flexibility Programs in Maine and New Hampshire; an assessment of the RWJ Southern Rural Access Program; and the management of the Mental Health Technical Assistance Program for the Mental Health Funding Collaborative in Maine.

Mr. Gale has served on Board of the National Association for Rural Mental Health and was a 2002 Fellow in the US Department of Health and Human Service Secretary’s Primary Care Policy Fellowship. He currently serves on the Board of Trustees for the National Rural Health Association, the Rural Health Clinic Advisory Committee of the National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health, and the Association for Community Health Improvement Advisory Council.  Mr. Gale was recently appointed to the National Quality Forum’s Rural Health Committee, which will provide recommendations to the US DHHS regarding performance measurement issues for rural and low-volume providers such as Critical Access Hospitals, Rural Health Clinics, and Community Health Centers.