Bechara Choucair (

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

: بشارة شقير) is a

Lebanese-American Lebanese Americans () are Americans of Lebanese descent. This includes both those who are native to the United States of America, as well as immigrants from Lebanon and Latin America. Lebanese Americans comprise 0.79% of the American populatio ...

physician and public health advisor who is the chief community health officer of

Kaiser Permanente Kaiser Permanente (; KP) is an American integrated delivery system, integrated managed care consortium headquartered in Oakland, California. Founded in 1945 by industrialist Henry J. Kaiser and physician Sidney Garfield, Sidney R. Garfield, the ...

. He was the senior vice president of safety net and community health at Trinity Health and served as the commissioner of the

Chicago Department of Public Health The Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) is a government department of the City of Chicago. The purpose of the CDPH is to create a thriving and healthy community within the city of Chicago, Illinois by providing guidance, services and strat ...

from 2009 to 2014.

Early life and education

Choucair was born in

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

. He earned a Bachelor of Science in chemistry and

Doctor of Medicine A Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated MD, from the Latin language, Latin ) is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the ''MD'' denotes a professional degree of ph ...

from the

American University of Beirut The American University of Beirut (AUB; ) is a private, non-sectarian, and independent university chartered in New York with its main campus in Beirut, Lebanon. AUB is governed by a private, autonomous board of trustees and offers programs le ...

. He then earned a Master of Science degree in healthcare management from the

University of Texas at Dallas The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD or UT Dallas) is a public research university in Richardson, Texas, United States. It is the northernmost institution of the University of Texas System. It was initially founded in 1961 as a private res ...

Career

Chicago Department of Public Health

Choucair was appointed as commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health on November 25, 2009, by

Richard M. Daley Richard Michael Daley (born April 24, 1942) is an American politician who served as the 54th mayor of Chicago, Illinois, from 1989 to 2011. Daley was elected mayor in 1989 and was reelected five times until declining to run for a seventh ter ...

, and reappointed by

Rahm Emanuel Rahm Israel Emanuel (; born November 29, 1959) is an American politician, advisor, diplomat, and former investment banker who most recently served as List of ambassadors of the United States to Japan, United States ambassador to Japan from 2022 ...

upon his election. He stepped down from the post in December 2014. Together with Mayor Emanuel, Choucair launched Healthy Chicago in August 2011, the City's first comprehensive public health agenda. in different Chicago neighborhoods. Choucair previously held an appointment at

Feinberg School of Medicine The Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, formerly Northwestern Medical School from 1906 to 2002, is the medical school of Northwestern University and is located in the Streeterville neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. Founded in ...

as an adjunct associate professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine.

Kaiser

Choucair was chief community health officer for

. In April 2018, Choucair led the mission-based nonprofit organization's commitment of $2 million to researching gun injury prevention. As part of this public health initiative, Choucair serves as a co-lead on the Kaiser Permanente Taskforce on Firearm Injury Prevention. In May 2018, Choucair announced Kaiser Permanente's $200 million

impact investing Impact investing refers to investments "made into companies, organizations, and funds with the intention to generate a measurable, beneficial social or environmental impact alongside a financial return". At its core, impact investing is about an a ...

commitment to address affordable housing and prevent displacement, a precursor to homelessness.

Biden administration

On December 30, 2020, it was announced that Choucair would serve as White House Vaccinations Coordinator in the incoming

Biden administration Joe Biden's tenure as the List of presidents of the United States, 46th president of the United States began with Inauguration of Joe Biden, his inauguration on January 20, 2021, and ended on January 20, 2025. Biden, a member of the Democr ...

. Choucair stepped down from his role on November 22, 2021, and resumed his role at Kaiser Permanente on December 27, 2021.

Awards

* 2010, Community Leadership Award
Midwest Asian Health Association
* 2011, Healthcare Community Leadership Award
The Chicago Health Executives Forum
* 2012, Friend for Life Award, Howard Brown Health Center * 2012, Chicago's "40 under 40," Crain's Chicago Business * 2014, Housing Champion Award
Metropolitan Tenants Organization
*2019, named sixty-eighth among the 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare by ''

Modern Healthcare ''Modern Healthcare'' is a twice monthly business publication targeting executives in the healthcare industry. It is an independent American publisher of national and regional healthcare news. The publication is also known for providing statisti ...

''.

Select publications

*
Survey of a Bekaa Community Health Needs, LMJ 47:1:13-17, 1999, Jamal N, Choucair B, Khalil H, Hamadeh G.
*

** [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21168578 Homelessness and Healthcare: Considerations for Evaluation, Management, and Support within the Primary Care Domain, Disease-a-Month, 2010 Dec 56(12):719-733. Koon A, Kantayya V, Choucair B.] *
Program to Improve Colorectal Cancer Screening in Low-Income, Racially Diverse Population: A Randomized Controlled Trial, Annals of Family Medicine, 2012 Sept/October 10 (5): 412-417. Jean-Jacques M., Kaleba E., Gatta J., Gracia G., Ryan E., Choucair, B.
** Chicago Health Atlas: Engaging in Public Health Surveillance Beyond the Confines of the Local Health Department, NACCHO Exchange, winter 2013 12(1). Jones R, Choucair B., O’Neil D., Kho A. Regional Extension Center. * Select Abstracts ** An Innovative Governmental Approach to Childhood Obesity Prevention in Chicago: The Inter-Departmental Task Force on Childhood Obesity, 2010. American Public Health Association 138th Annual Meeting and Expo. Choucair B, Harrington J, Herd J, Becker A, Bozlak C. ** Poverty Medicine Collaborative: Global Health Experience for Medical Students. 2008. American Academy of Family Physicians Global Health Conference. Choucair B, Koon A.

References

External links

Chicago Department of Public Health

Crain's 40 under 40: 2012
{{DEFAULTSORT:Choucair, Bechara 1973 births American civil servants American public health doctors American University of Beirut alumni Baylor College of Medicine alumni Living people People from Beirut University of Texas at Dallas alumni 21st-century American physicians