Department of Health Names Deputy Commissioner for Continuous Improvement and Training
NASHVILLE — Bruce Behringer, MPH, has been appointed the new deputy commissioner for continuous improvement and training for the Tennessee Department of Health. He comes to this new position after serving as assistant vice president and executive director of the Office of Rural and Community Health and Community Partnerships, Division of Health Sciences at East Tennessee State University.
"Bruce is a master facilitator who has spent decades sparking and fostering transformations in multiple organizations and is respected nationally for his ability to thoughtfully lead change,” said Health Commissioner John Dreyzehner, MD, MPH. “I look forward to working with him to increase our capacity to serve our constituents and lead Tennesseans to better health and greater prosperity.”
Behringer will be one of the top members of senior leadership for TDOH, charged with helping transform the culture of the department toward continuous quality improvement with the same or fewer resources. His direct responsibilities include strategic planning and performance excellence both within the department, and where appropriate and desired by the partner agency, across agencies. He will develop a plan to move TDOH through each of the four levels of recognition by the Tennessee Center for Performance Excellence, as well as a plan to move the department and each of its divisions and bureaus to Public Health Accreditation. Behringer will create a training infrastructure for necessary professional development of all staff. He will be responsible for assessing the performance of the department, and identify and enable opportunities for improvement and customer focus at all levels.
“Over my 20 years in East Tennessee, I have come to know and appreciate the Department’s culture of caring and professionalism,” said Behringer. “I am proud to be able to join the TDOH team and contribute assistance to Commissioner Dreyzehner’s vision for performance and partnering. I look forward to our challenge of serving our constituents all across the State.”
Behringer holds a Master of Public Health degree from the University of North Carolina School of Public Health and a Bachelor of Science degree from the Pennsylvania State University College of Human Development. In addition to his role as assistant vice president and executive director of ETSU’s Office of Rural and Community Health and Community Partnerships Division of Health Sciences, he has served as faculty and taught at ETSU’s colleges of Public Health and Pharmacy and helped develop and taught in ETSU’s nationally recognized interprofessional community-based programs.
Behringer brings extensive expertise and public health experience to his new position as deputy commissioner. Before joining the faculty at ETSU, he served as executive director of the Virginia Primary Care Association, Inc. and administrator of Tri-County Health Services, Inc. in Aurora, N.C.
Behringer currently serves on two national health committees, the Department of Veterans Affairs National Veterans Rural Health Advisory Committee, and the Appalachian Regional Commission Health Policy Council. He serves on statewide boards of the Tennessee Institute of Public Health, the Tennessee Rural Health Recruitment and Retention Center (The Rural Partnership). In the Tri-Cities Behringer assisted in development and support of the region’s Hispanic community coalition, Puertas Abiertas, and African American coalition, Minority Access to Community Health. In addition, Behringer has authored numerous book chapters as well as articles for journals and newsletters.