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Vidant Health on Thursday announced that Dr. Christina Bowen has been named Vidant’s first chief well-being officer, and will lead well-being efforts through the lens of team member and provider engagement and equity.

“I am excited about this new role and our commitment to our team’s well-being,” said Dr. Julie Oehlert, Vidant Health chief experience officer. “There is nothing more valuable and contributory to our health care outcomes than the wonderful humans that show up every day to deliver health care and caring to the communities we serve.”

As chief well-being officer effective Jan. 1, 2022, Dr. Bowen is responsible for collaborating with the entire organization to develop, guide and implement team member and provider well-being and resilience initiatives founded on evidence-based best practices and organizational data. She also collaborates with Vidant’s wellness teams to introduce and support new programs that positively influence the population health of the communities Vidant serves.

“I am proud to be a part of a health care organization that recognizes the importance of the overall team member experience and is committed to optimizing well-being and resilience efforts,” Bowen said. “I am very grateful to have the opportunity to pursue my passion of integrated medicine while also positively influencing the communities that I love. This is a way for Vidant to come alongside everyone who has provided amazing care to our patients, especially during the pandemic, and make sure our team members are taken care of and their wellness is in the forefront.”

In addition to serving as chief well-being officer, Bowen is an integrative medicine physician with Vidant Medical Group and the medical director of The Center for Healthy Living at The Outer Banks Hospital. Her previous roles at Vidant include medical director of the Office of Experience and medical director of Integrative Oncology. Bowen is board certified in family medicine, hospice and palliative medicine, lifestyle medicine and integrative medicine, and has received numerous honors and awards, including The National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health’s North Carolina’s Community Star in 2020.

“The creation of this role brings continued focus to our intention of belonging,” said Mark Dunn, chief diversity, inclusion and talent management officer with Vidant Health. “It is important to be our authentic selves at work and in the communities we live in and serve. Our collective well-being is important not only to our patients, but to our families. This role will help us provide support and development in an area that is needed now more than ever.”

A native of eastern North Carolina, Bowen graduated from East Carolina University in 2003 with a doctorate in medicine. In 2004, she completed her internship at Duke University Medical Center and completed her residency at Carolinas Medical Center in 2008. In 2016, she completed a fellowship in Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona under Dr. Andrew Weil— a renowned leader and pioneer in the field of integrative medicine.