Rahn Bailey, MD Elected Chair of Prestigious Caucus on Global Mental Health
Leslie Capo, Director of Information Services
Rahn Bailey, MD, DLFAPA, ACP, Professor and Chair of Psychiatry at LSU Health New
Orleans School of Medicine, has been elected Chair of the Global Mental Health and
Psychiatry Caucus of the American Psychiatric Association (APA). He will serve a two-year
term.
The 1,800-member APA Caucus on Global Mental Health and Psychiatry focuses on global mental health education, research, and advocacy for improved mental health care through collaboration among health and mental health professionals. The Caucus is a catalyst within the APA for interdisciplinary, open discussions addressing global mental health needs focusing on the biological, psychological, and social determinants of health and their presentations in the national and international arenas. The Caucus also plays a vital role in addressing the issue of stigma against mental health patients.
Dr. Bailey is also Assistant Dean of Community Engagement at LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine. Before joining the LSU Health New Orleans faculty, he was Chairman of Psychiatry at Meharry Medical College, Wake Forest Medical School, and National Medical Association.
Dr. Bailey’s early research focused on Psychotic Disorders/SPMI, grew to include Depressive Illness/Bipolar Mood D/O, and expanded to forensic topics, Competency, Confidentiality, and Risk Management. Currently, his focus is Health Disparities, Healthcare Reform, and Violence.
He has 86 peer-reviewed publications in more than 20 refereed journals and published three books -- Health Disparities, 2013; Gun Violence, 2018; and Intimate Partner Violence, 2020.
Dr. Bailey is an advocate for change. He served as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the National Medical Association/Cobb Research Foundation. He chaired the National Alumni Council Board of Trustees of the National Medical Fellowships and completed a six-year term on the Rutgers University Board of Trustees in 2020.
He served as the 113th President of the National Medical Association. In 2006, he was selected by his peers as the NMA Physician of the Year in Houston during the Hurricane Katrina crisis. He was selected Outstanding Faculty Member at the University of Texas Houston and American Medical Association Co-Chairman of the Commission to End Health Disparities, 2012-13. In 2022, Dr. Bailey received the National Medical Association Ernest Y. Williams, M.D. Clinical Scholars of Distinction Award.
His work has been seminal in assisting communities in caring for patients’ health, developing strategies to improve their health paradigms, and working to enhance the lives of young professionals.
“I am honored to be elected as the Chair of the APA Caucus on Global Mental Health and Psychiatry,” notes Dr. Bailey. “At the LSU Health New Orleans Department of Psychiatry, we are committed to serving our community, with an overall mission to reduce mental health care disparities and expand access to high-quality mental health care treatment. Our mission in the Greater New Orleans area shares some of the same needs seen globally -- to promote health equity and provide responsive care to our community, including special consideration to vulnerable populations. I look forward to working with the APA caucus to continue our focus on strategies that improve policies, programs, and research affecting patients’ health in communities locally and worldwide.”