Richard Hodges, MPA
- Assistant Clinical Professor in the College of Health Sciences and Professions
- Executive Director of the Ohio University Health Collaborative (OUHC)
- Director of the Ohio Alliance for Population Health (OAPH)
- Professor Fellow in the George Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Service
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Areas of Expertise
- Public Health
- Health Policy
- Health Systems
- Health Access
- Health Equity
- Population Health
- Public Health Emergency Response
Expert Bio
Rick Hodges is an Assistant Clinical Professor in the College of Health Sciences and Professions at Ohio University. He is also Director of the Ohio Alliance for Population Health, Executive Director of the Ohio University Health Collaborative, and Fellow at the George Voinovich School for Leadership and Public Service.
Hodges began his career as an elected local official and State Representative from rural Northwest Ohio. During his time in the legislature, he was active in health issues as a member of the Health and Retirement Committee and Chair of the Commerce and Labor Committee, responsible for Ohio’s Workers Compensation system.
After leaving the legislature he worked in hospitals and private industry groups designing and managing population health programs for communities and employers in Toledo, Ohio, Tucson, Arizona and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. These included community based managed care plans, early drug testing and intervention programs, health and safety training initiatives, and value- based care systems. He also served as Managing Director on boards for various health and pension plans.
In 2011, Hodges was asked to work in the administration of Governor John Kasich. During his time there he developed workers compensation reform legislation, served as Director of the Ohio Turnpike, and ultimately became Director of the Ohio Department of Health from 2014-2017. In this position he was responsible for value-based care initiatives, infectious disease and emergency response (during the Ebola outbreak), population health measures, healthcare regulation and health policy.
After leaving the Kasich administration Hodges joined the faculty of Ohio University and is responsible for the University’s response to health issues in Appalachia and the state of Ohio. The programs he directs link university and partner expertise to communities looking for help in solving their local health issues. He earned his BA from Oberlin College and Masters of Public Administration from the University of Toledo.