REMSA Welcomes Melanie Flores to Board of Directors
The Regional Emergency Medical Services Authority (REMSA) is pleased to announce that Melanie Flores, MSW of the School of Community Health Sciences at the University of Nevada, Reno will join the organization’s Board of Directors, effective immediately. Flores was selected as the Washoe County District Board of Health appointee.
“We are very pleased to welcome Melanie to the board,” said Dean Dow, president and CEO, REMSA Health. “Melanie’s social work background and her practical experience with public health policy and program development will offer a new board member perspective to our organization.”
As a member of the REMSA board of directors, Flores will provide leadership, counsel, oversight and support to the REMSA executive leadership.
In her role with the School of Community Health, Flores has focused in the field of chronic disease and HIV/AIDS. She teaches at the University of Nevada, Reno within the School of Community Health Sciences covering topics such as Health Communications, Personal Health and Well-being and HIV/AIDS. She earned her Master of Social Work from the University of Nevada, Reno and her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from California State University – San Bernardino. Prior to her work in public health, she spent 12 years working in commercial radio as a program director and on-air personality.
Flores is a founding member of the Nevada Public Health Alliance for Safety Access which put forth two major pieces of health policy legislation in Nevada related to syringe services programs and naloxone access to prevent opioid overdose deaths. She was recognized for her work by the Northern Nevada HIV Prevention Planning Group through an HIV Prevention and Care Community Award for her policy work.
As the Washoe County District Board of Health appointee, Flores replaces the former appointee, James Begbie. Begbie retired from the board after many years of service providing volunteer leadership in a public health and EMS oversight capacity.
REMSA is governed by a seven-member volunteer board of directors comprised of regional hospital leadership as well as other regional professionals including an attorney, a CPA, and community member. REMSA has strong oversight from the Board of Directors, the Washoe County District Board of Health, the EMS Advisory Board, and the State of Nevada EMS Division.
