Meet the New Board Chair

Pauline Marcussen, DHA, RHIA, CCHP, is the new chair of the National Commission on Correctional Health Care Governance Board. She joined the board in 2010 as liaison for the American Health Information Management Association and has served on several committees including juvenile health, education, and policy and research.

Dr. Marcussen is a veteran health information management professional and an advocate for modern health information systems in corrections. She recently retired after 25 years with the Rhode Island Department of Corrections, where she served as health care services administrator with primary oversight of vendor contracts, medical records, medical claims, and nonclinical administrative areas. Under her direction, Rhode Island was one of the first correctional systems in the country to switch from paper to fully electronic health records.

A firm believer in lifelong learning, Dr. Marcussen holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in health care administration from Providence College and Salve Regina University, respectively; in 2019 she earned a doctorate in health care administration from the Medical University of South Carolina. She also teaches college-level business courses to the incarcerated population.

“For me, it all comes back to education,” she says. “I always tell my students: learn as much as you can, because no one can take that away from you. Read a book, attend a lecture, listen to someone who is a subject matter expert. Find a mentor. Ask questions and be informed. It doesn’t have to be formal education leading to a degree, but day-to-day learning that builds and grows.”

Prior to her role as health care services administrator, she served as interdepartmental project manager for the Rhode Island DOC and as operations manager for a 300-bed hospital in Connecticut.

Dr. Marcussen has also served as chair of the CCHP (Certified Correctional Health Professional) board of trustees and has been certified as a CCHP since 2004.

Elizabeth Lowenhaupt, MD, CCHP, associate professor of psychiatry and human behavior at Brown University’s Warren Alpert Medical School, was elected chair-elect. She serves as the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry liaison to the NCCHC board.

NCCHC Governance Board 2022-2023

• Pauline Marcussen, DHA, RHIA, CCHP, chair
• Elizabeth Lowenhaupt, MD, CCHP, chair-elect
• Samuel Soltis, PhD, MHA, CCHP, immediate past chair
• Jayne Russell, MEd, CCHP-A, secretary
• Nancy B. White, MA, LPC, treasurer
• Oscar Aviles, CJM, CCE, CCHP
• Newton Kendig, MD
• Sheriff Health Taylor
• Barbara Wakeen, MD, RDN, CCHP