Associate Administrator for Health Workforce
Director of the National Health Service Corps
Health Resources and Services Administration
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Biography
Dr. Luis Padilla is the associate administrator for health workforce at the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). He also serves as director of the National Health Service Corps (NHSC).
Working in partnership with states and numerous national and local organizations, HRSA uses its annual budget to strengthen the health care workforce, build healthy communities, increase health equity, and provide health care and support services to people who are geographically isolated, economically or medically vulnerable, or live in a health professional shortage area.
The Bureau of Health Workforce (BHW) aims to better meet the need for a well-trained, well-distributed 21st century workforce by strengthening the health workforce and connecting skilled professionals to communities in need. With an annual appropriation of more than $1.82 billion, the bureau administers over 60 workforce programs with a staff of more than 450.
BHW improves access to quality health care by developing, distributing, and retaining a diverse and culturally competent health workforce. The bureau supports the health care workforce across the entire education and training to service continuum—from academic training of nurses, physicians, and other clinicians to clinicians currently providing health care in underserved and rural communities across the United States.
Dr. Padilla was appointed associate administrator for BHW in May 2016. He also serves as director of the National Health Service Corps, BHW’s largest program, with a field strength of more than 18,000 clinicians nationwide.
Prior to joining BHW, Dr. Padilla was senior health policy advisor to the CEO of Unity Health Care in Washington, D.C., a federally qualified health center network with over 100,000 patients. A committed advocate for the underserved, Dr. Padilla is a former NHSC Scholar who completed his service at Unity’s Upper Cardozo Health Center, where he also served as its medical director. He served on the National Advisory Council of the NHSC from 2007 to 2010.
Dr. Padilla received a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy and a Bachelor of Science in biology from the University of California at Irvine. He earned his medical degree from Wake Forest School of Medicine and completed his family medicine residency at Brown University.