Elnahal was appointed to the
White House Fellows program by President
Barack Obama in 2015. He 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.
New Jersey Department of Health Shereef Elnahal was nominated in January 2018 to serve in the
Cabinet of
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy. He was approved by the
New Jersey Senate on March 8, 2018 and sworn in on April 2, 2018. He is the first Muslim-American to serve in the cabinet. He resigned effective July 1, 2019 to become president/CEO of
University Hospital in
Newark. In order address the
opioid epidemic, 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 (MAT) for addiction treatment. On June 24, 2019, Elnahal authorized NJ's paramedics to administer buprenorphine in the field after naloxone administration at the time of overdose. Although buprenorphine use for withdrawal management is technically off-label, the rationale is to manage a patient's withdrawal symptoms and cravings immediately after revival, in order to encourage more to accept transport to the emergency room for further care. NJ is the first state in the nation to take this step, and received national attention for doing so. Soon after his election, Governor Murphy restored state funding to
family planning agencies in New Jersey, which were
line-item vetoed by Governor
Chris Christie, Murphy's predecessor, for seven straight annual budgets. Under Commissioner Elnahal, the department then disbursed these funds in grants that resulted in 10,000 more women served, 80,000 additional
STD tests administered, and many additional clinic hours and staff. Elnahal has also collaborated with NJ First Lady
Tammy Murphy on maternal and infant health initiatives, including her Nurture NJ. Elnahal also expanded provider participation in the NJ Health Information Network, a statewide health information exchange. Over 60 hospitals, three federally qualified health centers, and 6,000 physicians joined this network since the Murphy administration began, tying important sources of hospital funding like charity care to requirements to join the program. During Elnahal's tenure, the Department of Health significantly expanded
New Jersey's medical marijuana program, more than doubling the number of dispensaries and number of patients served and expanding the number of physicians in the program.
Veterans Health Administration In March 2022, President
Joe Biden nominated Elnahal to serve as
Under Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Health. He was confirmed on July 21, 2022, by a vote of 66–23, and was sworn in the same day.
Oregon Health and Science University In 2025, Elnahal was announced as the sixth president of
OHSU, a leading public academic health center based in Portland, Oregon. == References ==