José Montero, MD, MHCDS, Director of the Division of Public Health Services, New Hampshire
José Montero, MD, MHCDS, is the Director of the Division of Public Health Services (DPHS) at the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services.
As Director of DPHS since 2008, he leads the development and implementation of polices that help create the conditions to improve and maintain a healthy population. For this process he relies on two key strategies–first, the development of systematic approach for actionable data collection, use and dissemination. Second, a better coordination of the public health systems and the health care delivery system, with a clear expectation of population health improvement.
As a NASHP Academy member, Dr. Montero is on the Health System Performance and Public Health steering committee. “It is really gratifying, now that I start my formal engagement with other NASHP members, to have a place where we can discuss different models and lessons learned from successes and failures on different approaches to implementing a better partnership between public health and health care delivery.”
“Through my interactions in this great peer supported learning environment I can plan and implement better programs and policies in New Hampshire. And given the wide scope of health topics I can bring knowledge and strategies to the attention of my colleagues,” he said.
Dr. Montero also fulfills several national roles. He is the president of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO). He serves on several committees including the federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP, as ASTHO Liaison) and has been recently appointed to the CDC’s board of scientific councilors for the Office of infectious diseases. He is also a member of the IOM roundtable on population health.
To learn more on Dr. Montero’s work at the state level visit https://www.dhhs.state.nh.us.
Information about his national role and the ASTHO challenge is available here https://www.astho.org/Presidents-Challenge-2013
For individuals living with complex, often chronic conditions, and their families, palliative care can provide relief from symptoms, improve satisfaction and outcomes, and help address critical mental and spiritual needs during difficult times. Now more than ever, there is growing recognition of the importance of palliative care services for individuals with serious illness, such as advance care planning, pain and symptom management, care coordination, and team-based, multi-disciplinary support. These services can help patients and families cope with the symptoms and stressors of disease, better anticipate and avoid crises, and reduce unnecessary and/or unwanted care. While this model is grounded in evidence that demonstrates improved quality of life, better outcomes, and reduced cost for patients, only a fraction of individuals who could benefit from palliative care receive it. 
