I serve as the Deputy Chief Medical Officer for the VA New England Healthcare System (VISN 1), stationed at the regional headquarters in Bedford, MA. I am a member of the VISN Executive Leadership Team, responsible along with the Chief Medical Officer for oversight of operations, quality improvement and strategic planning for all medical services across the eight distinct VA healthcare systems in the six New England states. I have psychiatrist privileges at the Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital (a/k/a the Bedford VA) and serve approximately 10% time in direct clinical service across a variety of roles – primarily psychiatrist attending duties on inpatient mental health or in the psychiatry consultation service for the hospital’s large nursing home population. Clinically I conduct diagnostic evaluations, recovery-oriented patient/family education, medication management and brief psychotherapeutic interventions based in cognitive-behavioral, mindfulness and motivational enhancement techniques.
My scholarly activities have included seven publications in peer-reviewed journals, the most notable being a first-authored 2007 meta-analysis on the effectiveness of assertive community treatment for homeless populations living with severe mental illness. In addition, I have lectured locally, regionally, and nationally on a variety of psychiatry, patient-centered care and healthcare quality improvement topics.
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility
Beginning in 2007, I have worked with trainees from BUSM (medical students and residents) and other Bedford-affiliated teaching programs in a variety of activities, including clinical service supervisor and lecturer. I was the Bedford VA interviewing course director for BU psychiatry residents (and some family medicine residents) from 2009-16. During the 2009-10 academic year, I served as a faculty mentor for PGY-4 psychiatry resident Dr. Elvin Hernandez during his year-long administrative psychiatry elective spent at the VA in concert with his MPH training. We focused on developing his early career leadership skills to bring evidence-based opiate use disorder treatment to his native Puerto Rico, addressing a recognized disparity for this population. I enjoyed this mentorship deeply.
I have also participated in the Bedford VA’s Principles and Practice of Health Professions Education Program, focused considerably on enhancing DEI approaches in trainee education.
Publications listed below are automatically derived from MEDLINE/PubMed and other
sources, which might result in incorrect or missing publications. Faculty can
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Coldwell CM, Thorsness R, Tepper K, Evans JS, Rovelsky SA, Houranieh AM, Strymish JM, Marrache LT, Califano SG. Centralizing Telehealth Test-to-Treat Through a Regional Clinical Contact Center: A Veterans Health Administration Pilot. Telemed J E Health. 2023 Oct; 29(10):1566-1572. PMID: 36862524; DOI: 10.1089/tmj.2022.0502;
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Elwy AR, Glickman ME, Bokhour BG, Dell NS, Mueller NM, Zhao S, Osei-Bonsu PE, Rodrigues S, Coldwell CM, Ngo TA, Schlosser J, Vielhauer MJ, Pirraglia PA, Eisen SV. Using Mixed Methods to Examine the Role of Veterans' Illness Perceptions on Depression Treatment Utilization and HEDIS Concordance. Med Care. 2016 Jun; 54(6):e35-42.View Related Profiles. PMID: 24374425; PMCID: PMC4257901; DOI: 10.1097/MLR.0000000000000056;
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Bauer MS, Miller C, Kim B, Lew R, Weaver K, Coldwell C, Henderson K, Holmes S, Seibert MN, Stolzmann K, Elwy AR, Kirchner J. Partnering with health system operations leadership to develop a controlled implementation trial. Implement Sci. 2016 Feb 24; 11:22.View Related Profiles. PMID: 26912342; PMCID: PMC4765154; DOI: 10.1186/s13012-016-0385-7;
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Watts BV, Shiner B, Zubkoff L, Carpenter-Song E, Ronconi JM, Coldwell CM. Implementation of evidence-based psychotherapies for posttraumatic stress disorder in VA specialty clinics. Psychiatr Serv. 2014 May 01; 65(5):648-53. PMID: 24430622; DOI: 10.1176/appi.ps.201300176;
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Cummings KS, Grandfield SA, Coldwell CM. Caring with comfort rooms. Reducing seclusion and restraint use in psychiatric facilities. J Psychosoc Nurs Ment Health Serv. 2010 Jun; 48(6):26-30. PMID: 20349887; DOI: 10.3928/02793695-20100303-02;
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Coldwell CM, Bender WS. The effectiveness of assertive community treatment for homeless populations with severe mental illness: a meta-analysis. Am J Psychiatry. 2007 Mar; 164(3):393-9. PMID: 17329462; DOI: 10.1176/ajp.2007.164.3.393;
This graph shows the total number of publications by year, by first, middle/unknown,
or last author.
| Year | Publications |
|---|
| 2007 | 1 |
| 2010 | 1 |
| 2014 | 1 |
| 2016 | 2 |
| 2017 | 1 |
| 2023 | 1 |
2016 Office of Mental Health Services & Operations:
Veterans Health Association Certificate of Appreciation
I am an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Deputy Chief Medical Officer for the VA New England Healthcare System. I am a VA-certified coach/mentor, and I use these skills in both formal and informal relationships within the Dept of Veterans Affairs. My MPH is in healthcare quality improvement and I focused most of my time in coaching and mentoring physicians and other clinical leaders in producing successful clinical and operational improvements around access, quality or safety. I have worked with trainees from BUSM (medical students and residents) and other Bedford-affiliated teaching programs in a variety of activities, including clinical service supervisor and lecturer. During the 2009-10 academic year, I served as a faculty mentor for PGY-4 psychiatry resident during his year-long administrative psychiatry elective spent at the VA in concert with his MPH training. I enjoyed this mentorship deeply and would welcome re-establishing this as an opportunity for future residents, students or junior faculty with related interests.