Louisiana

Specialty Areas / Background

Gerrelda is the director of the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals' Bureau of Primary Care and Rural Health, which entails the management of 37 professional and support personnel, and the administration of five service units, including Chronic Disease Prevention and Control; Health Systems Development; Operations Support; Practice Management Consulting; and Recruitment and Retention Services. She has a graduate degree in business administration and an undergraduate degree in English, and has worked for the department for more than 16 years in such capacities as Disease Intervention Specialist, Primary Care Officer and Chronic Disease Director. Currently, Gerrelda provides direction regarding day-to-day operations of the Bureau to staff, departmental agencies, federal and state partners and stakeholders. She serves as a principal advisor to rural and underserved community leaders and agencies in analyzing health care needs, and she meets with federal and state government officials, federal and state legislators, philanthropic administrators, hospital, clinic and community health center administrators, health care experts, consumer advocacy administrators and leading experts from other states to direct the efforts of the programs, and identify and pursue opportunities for increased funding for primary care and rural health initiatives. In addition, Gerrelda formulates and implements policies and procedures for programs administered within the scope of the law, and she collaborates with various state officials to increase the supply of primary care providers in rural and underserved areas; strengthen the health care infrastructure; and build capacity at the state and community levels to ensure sufficient health care access for improvement of health status for citizens of all socio-economic levels within the state. Gerrelda is a strong advocate for quality and accessible healthcare for all.

State Office Director since November 2007