DarrickP.NelsonMD

Summary

• Dr. Darrick Nelson, MD
  Chief Medical Officer, Shasta Community Health Center
  
  Dr. Darrick Nelson, a U.S. Army veteran, is an accomplished healthcare leader and educator. Raised in a small mining town in Arizona, he served in both the Cold War and Desert Shield/Storm before earning his medical degree from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. Dr. Nelson graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Texas at Dallas.
  
  Currently, Dr. Nelson serves as Chief Medical Officer at Shasta Community Health Center (SCHC), a Federally Qualified Health Center providing care to 36,000 patients annually across Northern California. He directs primary care services and leads initiatives to improve clinical outcomes for underserved populations.
  
  Previously, Dr. Nelson was the Chief Medical Officer and founding Residency Program Director at Hidalgo Medical Services in New Mexico. There, he established the FORWARD NM – Pathways to Health Careers program and successfully accredited New Mexico's first Teaching Health Center. He also served as core faculty at Texas A&M University Health Science Center in Corpus Christi, supervising residents in diverse clinical settings, including high-risk obstetrics and indigent care.
  
  Dr. Nelson’s expertise extends to medical informatics, having spearheaded the implementation of electronic clinical documentation at CHRISTUS Spohn Shoreline Hospital. Recognized for his contributions to rural healthcare, he was named "Community Health Center Medical Provider of the Year" by the New Mexico Primary Care Association in 2012. He is also a Fellow of the National Institute for Program Director Development and has held leadership roles, including Chair of the Quality Improvement Committee at Gila Regional Medical Center.
  
  Dr. Nelson is dedicated to advancing patient-centered care and fostering health workforce development in underserved communities.