Intealth™ has named Matthew Shick, JD, as Assistant Vice President and Chief Government Relations Officer. Shick, a seasoned government relations veteran, will focus on enhancing Intealth’s advocacy efforts on behalf of international medical graduates (IMGs) and the vital role they play in health care quality and accessibility across the United States. Shick will join Intealth on May 22.
Matthew Shick, Assistant Vice President and Chief Government Relations Officer.
Intealth and its members, ECFMG® and FAIMER®, are leading advocates for IMGs and the essential contributions they make to U.S. health care. In 2018, the organizations opposed a travel ban limiting the entry of IMGs from certain countries. In 2020, they led a successful grassroots effort to prevent the proposed administrative change to “duration of status” that would have had a devastating impact on U.S. health care. The organizations also worked to mitigate multiple visa processing and travel restrictions that threatened the continued entry of IMGs during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We have made significant strides in recent years to raise awareness of the important contributions that IMGs make to U.S. health care,” said William Pinsky, MD, FAAP, FACC, Chief Executive Officer of Intealth. “In this role, Matt’s wealth of experience in government relations in the health care sector and his proven record of advocacy will help us greatly expand those efforts.”
As Chief Government Relations Officer, Shick will be responsible for leading Intealth’s government relations strategy and priorities, as well as managing the organization’s relationships with local, state, and federal government entities. This includes shaping legislation and regulatory initiatives related to the health workforce, medical education, and immigration, among other areas impacting IMGs’ ability to practice medicine in the United States; advising Intealth’s executive leadership on potential impacts to the organization; and representing the IMG community’s interests to policy makers and government officials. In addition, he will develop and maintain relationships with peer organizations and communicate with internal stakeholders on government policy issues that could affect the organization’s mission.
Shick comes to Intealth after 18 years at the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), where he served as Senior Director of Government Relations and Regulatory Affairs. In that role, he was responsible for the AAMC’s international medical education, immigration, visa, and citizenship policy development and guided AAMC leadership and constituencies on legislative and regulatory actions of Congress, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and the U.S. Department of State, among other federal agencies.
“I am drawn to Intealth’s values and its vision to be the trusted global authority on health care education,” Shick said. “In my time at AAMC, I saw firsthand the importance of international medical graduates to underserved patients as a quarter of the nation’s physician workforce. I look forward to helping Intealth maximize its considerable expertise and resources to shape policies and legislation that support IMGs’ continuing contributions to our nation’s health.”
Shick, a resident of Falls Church, Virginia, earned his Juris Doctor degree in 2012 from George Mason University School of Law and a Bachelor of Science in Biology in 2004 from Georgetown University.
About Intealth
Intealth brings together the expertise and resources that advance quality in health care education worldwide in order to improve health care for all. Through strategic integration of its nonprofit members, Intealth offers a flexible and multi‐layered portfolio of services. These services enhance and support the education and training of health care professionals, verify their qualifications required to practice, and inform the development of health workforce policies around the world. By leveraging these combined competencies of its members, Intealth powers innovation in areas critical to the health professions. Intealth is an integrated organization that includes ECFMG and FAIMER. Learn more at www.intealth.org.