December 15, 2023
Dr. Cynthia Brinson, Maram Museitif DRPH, MPH, CPH re-elected as vice chair and treasurer; Dr. Manuel Martin named board secretary
(Austin) – At its meeting on December 13, the Central Health Board of Managers elected Ann Kitchen to be the board’s new chairperson, succeeding Dr. Charles Bell, who is retiring from the board. Central Health is Travis County’s hospital district, providing healthcare and coverage to people with low income.
Manager Kitchen was appointed by the Travis County Commissioners Court to the Board of Managers in early 2023, at the end of her eight years of service as a member of the Austin City Council, representing South Austin. Kitchen is also a board trustee for Integral Care, Travis County’s local mental health authority. Kitchen is a former member of the Texas House of Representatives, the Capital Metro board of directors, and the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization policy board.
Kitchen is an attorney and health care policy consultant whose career has included service as a senior Medicaid policy advisor with the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, as an assistant Texas attorney general, as a caseworker for special-needs children at the Texas Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired; and as executive director of the Integrated Care Collaboration, working to advance adoption of health information technology.
The Board of Managers also re-elected Dr. Cynthia Brinson as vice chair of the board and Maram Museitif, DRPH, MPH, CPH as treasurer and chair of the board’s Budget and Finance Committee. Dr. Brinson is a practicing family medicine physician, a coordinator of clinical trials, and the co-founder of KIND Clinic. Museitif holds a doctorate in public health and chairs the Texas Public Health Association’s Legislative, Policy and Advocacy Committee. Her primary focus as a public health professional is on cancer research tailored for underserved and vulnerable communities.
Dr. Manuel Martin, a family medicine doctor practicing in Austin and focusing on the Hispanic community, was named secretary of the board, succeeding Manager Cynthia Valadez, who continues to serve on the board.