Appointment of Director of Office of Well-being

April 2, 2024

TO: All UMMC Faculty, Staff and Students
FROM:Dr. LouAnn Woodward
Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs
Dean, UMMC School of Medicine
SUBJECT: Appointment of Director of Office of Well-being

I am pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Josie Bidwell, associate professor of preventive medicine, as director of the UMMC Office of Well-being, effective July 1.

Dr. Bidwell has served as clinical director in the Department of Preventive Medicine since July 2020. She is also a faculty member in the School of Medicine and the John D. Bower School of Population Health. Since 2017, she has been the lead nurse practitioner in the Department of Preventive Medicine’s Lifestyle Medicine Clinic.

She earned BSN, MSN, and DNP degrees from UMMC and has nearly 20 years of experience in nursing and nursing education. Her career has included work at UMMC as a staff RN, a charge nurse with Children’s of Mississippi and a member of the School of Nursing faculty. She is board-certified as a family nurse practitioner by the American Association of Nurse Practitioners and as a lifestyle medicine professional by the American College of Lifestyle Medicine and the International Board of Lifestyle Medicine.

She was inducted into the UMMC Nursing Hall of Fame in 2021 and named a Fellow of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine in 2022.

Dr. Bidwell is an active supporter of community engagement. She has served as host of the Southern Remedy Healthy and Fit radio show on Mississippi Public Broadcasting since January 2017. She directs service and community outreach for the Women’s Health Research Center and has served as a past chair of the Mississippi Food Network board of directors. Other leadership roles at UMMC include chair of the Advanced Practice Provider Council and lead faculty of the UMMC Lifestyle Medicine Residency.

She serves on the board of directors of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine and has key roles on the organization’s expert consensus panel and electronic medical record working group.

She has contributed to numerous journals and publications on topics including nursing, lifestyle medicine and community health. Her current research activity includes supporting N-PALMS: Nutrition and Physical Activity in Lifestyle Medicine Services, serving as principal investigator for the Ardmore Institute of Health and the Mississippi Diabetes Program and as co-investigator for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Please join me in congratulating Dr. Bidwell on this new role and thanking Dr. Josh Mann, chair of preventive medicine, for his leadership as founding director of the Office of Well-being since 2018. Under his direction, the office, originally established to address health care worker burnout and overall well-being, has developed into a vital resource, providing programs and initiatives to improve the sense of value and mental, emotional and physical wellness of UMMC faculty, staff, students and others.

Thank you.