Dr. Leona O’Keefe is the new medical director for Jackson Care Connect.

Jackson Care Connect, a coordinated care organization in Southern Oregon, has a new medical director.

Dr. Leona O’Keefe, Jackson County’s former public health officer and medical director, joined the CCO in April.

The organization said in a news release Thursday that O’Keefe “will manage Jackson Care Connect’s clinical and wellness programs to meet the needs of members.

“She will also be a key liaison for the organization’s clinical network and work with clinic system leaders to meet quality care metrics. This will include supporting the local network as they rebuild their workforce following the pandemic.

“O’Keefe will also provide direction in support of Jackson Care Connect and CareOregon’s coordinated care organization … health transformation and process improvement efforts.”

O’Keefe said in an interview that some of her favorite things from her role in public health carry over into her new job.

“I first became a physician out of a desire to help some of our most vulnerable populations, which is often who JCC serves,” she said.

In addition, she said, “JCC is focused on justice and equity, and those are things that have always been passions of mine, and so I’m excited to join them in those efforts as well.”

O’Keefe left her public health department role in January, she said, to spend more time with her family, Jefferson Public Radio reported.

Dr. John Mahan, the county’s psychiatric medical director, stepped in to replace O’Keefe.

The county did not announce these developments at the time, according to news reports.

O’Keefe started at Jackson County Public Health as a deputy health officer in July 2021, over a year into the coronavirus pandemic.

At AllCare Health, another of the region’s coordinated care organizations, O’Keefe served as an associate medical director. She has also worked as a physician at Boulder Care — an addiction treatment provider — and Siskiyou Community Health Center.

At Josephine County Public Health Department, she was a deputy health officer.