WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Meharry Medical College physician who traveled to Haiti in January 2010 as part of a contingent of the National Medical Association (NMA) to provide medical care for Haitians after the earthquake, is next in line to head the NMA.
Dr. Rahn Kennedy Bailey, chairman of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Meharry, has been named president-elect of the association.
The NMA, with a current membership of 30,000, is the largest and oldest national organization representing African-American physicians and the patients they serve.
Bailey was put in line to head the group during the NMA’s annual Convention & Scientific Assembly held in Washington, D.C., July 23-27. He will become the 113th NMA president in the summer of 2012.
“Health-care policy is changing rapidly and, for more than 100 years, the National Medical Association has been at the forefront of the effort to provide quality health-care for medically underserved populations,” Bailey said in a statement announcing his appointment. “I look forward to expanding my commitment to the NMA as we continue to make a difference in meeting the health care needs of all Americans.”
Bailey is double board-certified, in general psychiatry and forensic psychiatry, by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. He has extensive expertise in forensic cases involving, but not limited to, establishing competency to stand trial, competency to be executed, child custody, clinical malpractice, fitness for duty, sexual violent predator, insanity and medical malpractice.
A graduate of Morehouse College, Bailey received his medical degree from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. He completed his residency in psychiatry at the University of Texas at Houston Texas Medical Center Affiliated Hospital. He also completed a fellowship in Forensic Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Yale University, New Haven, Conn.
A longstanding member of the NMA, Bailey has served as chairman of the psychiatry section, secretary, vice-speaker and, most recently, speaker, of the House of Delegates, the governing body of the association.
“Dr. Bailey’s leadership skills and impressive service to the medically underserved make him an outstanding choice for president-elect of the NMA,” said Meharry President and CEO Dr. Wayne J. Riley. “His commitment will serve the organization well in its endeavor to eliminate healthcare disparities.”
Photo: COURTESY OF MEHARRY MEDICAL COLLEGE
CARING FOR THE POOR: Dr. Rahn Kennedy Bailey, chairman of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tenn., discusses child care with a mother during a visit to Haiti.
No Comment