Nancy Connolly, M.D., M.P.H.
Fellowship Year(s): 2023-2024
Profession: Physician
Specialty: Nutrition, Primary Care
Fellowship Details:
University of Washington
The U.S. Chamber of Connection
Sen Schatz (D-HI)
Washington
At time of Fellowship
Nancy Connolly is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Washington – Harborview Downtown Programs. In her role as an Internal Medicine and Addiction specialist, she provides primary care to people experiencing homelessness in a variety of settings including emergency shelters, permanent supportive housing and people living in unsheltered settings. Prior to joining the University of Washington, she served as the Regional Medical Director for Virginia Mason Medical Center. At Virginia Mason, she supervised 15 providers including doctors, nurse practitioners and support staff providing comprehensive, multi-specialty care serving more than 30,000 patients while also providing continuity care to her own primary care panel.
Dr. Connolly has spent over two decades providing primary care to patients from all walks of life. Noting the significant impact of social determinants of health on her patient’s well-being, she completed fellowship training in Integrative Medicine at the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona in 2019. She has been a leader in providing holistic care for chronic pain conditions to her patients and sharing her learnings with colleagues. She has led efforts to expand approaches for treating chronic pain and spearheaded training in chronic pain and responsible opiate prescribing. Noting the overlap between chronic pain and addiction, in 2018 she pivoted her career to care for our most needy patients, those experiencing homelessness, and became board certified in Addiction Medicine in 2021. She completed the Society of General Internal Medicine – Leadership in Health Policy Fellowship in 2021 to expand her work in primary care, addiction and homelessness research into the policy world, to impact more patients and to learn how to influence systems. In 2022, hoping to bring her insights and knowledge of homelessness and population health to the state level, she ran for a seat in the Washington State Legislature. She has been an active member, serving in leadership roles in the King County Medical Society, Society of General Internal Medicine and completed a Copello Fellowship with Doctors for America.
Dr. Connolly earned a BA in Biology at the University of California, Santa Cruz while also serving as an Alternate Infectious Disease Investigator for Santa Cruz County. She earned her MD at Ross University School of Medicine in Roseau, Dominica. Between degrees, she served in the Peace Corps, Benin from 1990-1992 working on Guinea Worm Eradication with USAID and Jimmy Carter’s Global 2000 campaign. She completed Internal Medicine training at the University of Illinois – Michael Reese Hospital and the University of Pittsburgh – Shadyside Hospital followed by an Infectious Disease Fellowship and Master of Public Health at the University of Pittsburgh where she was part of a team that led a phase I study on HIV-Dendritic cell vaccines.
Current Info:
Executive Director for Community Health and Wellbeing
The U.S. Chamber of Connection
Since Fellowship:
Dr. Nancy Connolly is the Founding Executive Director for Health and Wellbeing at the U.S. Chamber of Connection, the nation’s civic institution dedicated to building and sustaining the core infrastructure needed to address the loneliness epidemic. In this role, she is mobilizing healthcare leaders to develop a united, systemic response – ensuring cities and towns have the infrastructure required to foster meaningful connection and wellbeing.
Dr. Connolly is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Washington in Seattle, working as a primary care and addiction specialist serving people experiencing homelessness. She has worked in clinical care in multiple, diverse roles for almost 30 years and has additional experience as medical director at Virginia Mason Medical Center and as a researcher on phase I to III – HIV trials at the University of Pittsburgh.
She completed medical school at Ross University School of Medicine and earned a Masters of Public Health from the University of Pittsburgh. She was a Resident in Internal Medicine at the University of Illinois in Chicago, Michael Reese Hospital and at the University of Pittsburgh, Shadyside Hospital. She completed Infectious Disease Fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh and Fellowship in Integrative Medicine at the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona. She was an RWJF fellow form 2023-2024.
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