UNMC College of Public Health Grand Rounds
“The HHS Regional Prevention Mission”
CAPT Jose H. Belardo, JD, MSW
Regional Health Administrator
HHS/OASH/Region VII
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Jose Belardo, JD, MSW, MS
Acting Regional Health Administrator, Region VII, Kansas City
States: Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska
Captain (CAPT) Jose Belardo is a career officer of the United States Public Health Service (USPHS). He is currently serving as the Acting Regional Health Administrator (RHA). His professional education is as follows: Bachelor’s (1988) and Master’s Degree in Social Work from Virginia Commonwealth University (1990); Master’s of Science Degree in Administration (Specialization: Health Care Administration) from the University of Maryland (1999); and a Juris Doctorate, (Specialization: Health Care Law) from the University of Baltimore School of Law.
As the Acting RHA, CAPT Belardo is the principal federal public health leader for Region VII. He has the overall responsibility for managing five programs: Office of Minority Health, Office on Women’s Health, Office of Population Affairs, Regional Resource Network for HIV/AIDS Capacity Building, and the Medical Reserve Corps. Prior to serving in his current capacity, CAPT Belardo served as the Deputy RHA for nearly three years. Before joining OPHS, he was the Director of the Healthy Tomorrows Partnership for Children Program in the DHHS Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA). The Healthy Tomorrows Program began in 1989 as a collaborative grant program funded and administered by HRSA’s Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) in partnership with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). Its purpose is to stimulate innovative community-based programs that employ prevention strategies to promote access to health care for mothers and children nationwide. Before joining Healthy Tomorrows, CAPT Belardo served as a Program Director in the Division of Perinatal Systems and Women’s Health. He was the Program Director for 12 urban and rural Healthy Start (a national initiative created to reduce infant mortality rates in targeted areas) sites. Prior to joining the USPHS, he served as a Medical Service Corp Officer in the U.S. Army. While in the Army, CAPT Belardo served as the Administrator for several family-centered, community-based programs at different military installations within the United States. He also served as the Chief Mental Health Officer while deployed to Somalia, Africa during Operation Restore Hope.
CAPT Belardo resides in Kansas City, MO with his wife Elaine and three children Lauren, Jared, and Morgan. He is active in his church and engaged in activities that involve his children.