Omar Al Rais, MBA, MBChB, D Pharmacology, is the Senior Vice President of Operations and former Interim President and CEO at Project Access NOW. He also serves as adjunct faculty with the OHSU Division of Management, School of Medicine. Before joining Project Access NOW, Omar was the Director of Affiliate Quality and Compliance at Planned Parenthood of Southwestern Oregon, where he led initiatives in risk management, quality assurance, compliance, and patient experience. Omar brings a diverse and extensive background in medical care, public policy, and quality improvement.
Earlier in his career, Omar practiced medicine in Iraq and Jordan as a resident in Otolaryngology. He later earned a degree in Molecular Pharmacology, conducting research on the links between changes in DNA damage and repair genes and patient responses to chemotherapy.
Omar’s commitment to mission-driven community service is reflected in his experience with performance improvement at Planned Parenthood, equity outreach at Cascade AIDS Project, serving as board president of HIV Alliance (Eugene), being a community board member of Comagine Health, and his roles on the OHSU Health Equity Community Core Team and the Health Information Technology Oversight Council (HITOC) Committee of the Oregon Health Policy Board (OHPB).
Omar is committed to eliminating health disparities. He is utilizing his past medical experience to help underserved and at-risk populations overcome barriers to accessing equitable healthcare and health-related social services.
