Patient Protection Commission - Board Members

The following 12 voting members from across the health care spectrum have been appointed by the Governor:

Two members who are persons with expertise and experience in advocating on behalf of patients.

VACANT

Dr. Mark Glyman

Dr. Mark Glyman is currently Chief of Surgery at Southern Hills Hospital, serving as past Chief of Staff and Board of Directors for that hospital. He has served in similar roles at other hospitals in the Las Vegas Valley. Dr. Glyman earned both his undergraduate degree in biochemistry and his Doctor of Dental Surgery at the University of California, Los Angeles. Next, he attended Harvard Medical School in Boston, earning his medical degree. To further deepen his knowledge base and experience, he also completed a combined general surgery and maxillofacial surgery residency at Boston’s Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Glyman is also known around the world for in temporomandibular joint (TMJ) Surgery, facial nerve reconstruction and Sialendoscopy. Dr. Glyman does craniofacial reconstruction for children with facial deformities, facial trauma surgery, and maxillofacial surgery.

One member who is a provider of health care who operates a for-profit business to provide health care.

Dr. Ikram Khan

Dr. Ikram Khan was originally appointed in 2019 as a founding member to the Patient Protection Commission (PPC) and currently serves as Chair. He is a distinguished healthcare leader with extensive experience in medicine, surgery, and healthcare policy. He earned his Doctor of Medicine and Surgery (MB, BS) in 1972 from the University of Karachi, Pakistan, completed his surgical residency in New York from 1974 to 1978, and practiced as a General Surgeon in Las Vegas until 2005. Currently, Dr. Khan is President and co-owner of Quality Care Consultants, LLC, a firm he co-founded in 1992, specializing in healthcare strategy, policy development, and cost-effective medical resource utilization. Dr. Khan also serves as Chairman of the UNLV School of Medicine Community Advisory Board, as board of trustee’s member at Sunrise Hospital since 1999, and a member of the Nevada Homeland Security Commission.

Dr. Khan’s past roles include serving as board member on the Nevada State Board of Medical Examiners (1985-1993), Clinical Assistant Professor of Surgery at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, School of Medicine (1979–1992), board member of the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences (1999–2006), nominated by President George W. Bush to the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) Board of Directors, confirmed by the Senate in 2008 and also served as a Commissioner on the VA Commission on Care, contributing to recommendations for improving veterans' healthcare.

Dr. Khan has received numerous honors for his service, including Special Congressional Recognition (1994), a U.S. Senate Congressional Record Citation (1994), and Presidential Recognition from President Bill Clinton (1995) for his contributions to healthcare reform. In 1999, Nevada declared November 30th as "Dr. Ikram U. Khan Day" in recognition of his service. Throughout his career, Dr. Khan has played a vital role in shaping healthcare policy, improving patient care, and advancing medical education.

One member who is a registered nurse who practices primarily at a nonprofit hospital.

VACANT

One member who is a physician or registered nurse who practices primarily at a federally-qualified health center.

Travis Walker, MD, MPH, FAAFP

Travis Walker is currently the Chief Medical Officer for Community Health Alliance (CHA) in Reno and Sparks, NV.  Prior to joining CHA, he served as Medical Director for Pinnacle Medical Group and Section Chief of Primary Care for Renown Health.  He graduated from the University of Nevada School of Medicine (now UNR School of Medicine) and completed a four-year length training program where he received additional training in Obstetrics and Public Health.  After completing his residency, and while working as an FM-OB for Renown Health, he completed his Master of Public Health at the University of Nevada, Reno.  Currently he oversees the Medical and Behavioral Health departments at CHA at seven locations in Washoe County, including one Mobile Health Center.  He continues to grow the capacity and quality of care for CHA, the largest Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) in Northern Nevada, and has contributed to CHA be recognized nationally by the US Department of Health & Human Services, Health Resource & Service Administration for Enhancing Access to Care, Reducing Health Disparity, and being a top ranked FQHC nationally. He has been a three-time TEDMED Frontline Health Scholar and Aspen Institute Spotlight Health Scholar.

One member who is a pharmacist at a pharmacy not affiliated with any chain of pharmacies or a person who has expertise and experience in advocating on behalf of patients.

Dr. Adam Porath

Dr. Adam Porath is the Vice President of Pharmacy Services at Renown Health in Reno, NV.  He received his Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Idaho State University and completed a Pharmacy Practice Residency at Renown Regional Medical Center.  He is a board-certified Pharmacotherapy Specialist and Ambulatory Care Pharmacist and a certified Pharmacy Executive Leader.  In his current role, Dr. Porath is responsible for overseeing pharmacy strategy and operations for 3 acute care hospitals, community, specialty, and ambulatory care clinical pharmacy services across the continuum of care at Renown Health. Additionally, Dr. Porath serves as the PGY2 Ambulatory Care Residency Director and as clinical faculty for several Colleges of Pharmacy and the University of Nevada School of Medicine.  Dr. Porath was awarded the Bowl of Hygeia for the State of Nevada for outstanding community service. Dr. Porath is a Fellow of the American Society of Health System Pharmacists. Dr. Porath was also appointed by Governor Lombardo as a member of the Nevada State Board of Pharmacy and is currently serving as their Treasurer.

One member who represents a nonprofit public hospital that is located in the county of this State that spends the largest amount of money on hospital care for indigent persons pursuant to chapter 428 of NRS.

Ms. Marilyn Kirkpatrick

Marilyn Kirkpatrick was appointed to the Patient Protection Commission by Governor Joe Lombardo in 2023 and currently serves as Vice Chair. In 2021, she was elected to serve a second term as Clark County Commissioner, after being appointed in 2015 by Governor Brian Sandoval. As a Clark County Commissioner, she also serves on numerous boards and commissions, including the Las Vegas Valley Water District, the Board of Health for Southern Nevada Health District and on the governing Board of Trustees for University Medical Center (UMC). She also serves in leadership roles including President of the Nevada Association of Counties. Prior to serving as Clark County Commissioner, she was first elected to the Nevada Legislature in 2004 and served five regular and seven special sessions in Carson City. In 2013, she was elected Speaker of the Assembly and prior in 2011, she was the only member of the Assembly to chair two committees: Government Affairs and Taxation. She also served as a member of the Commerce and Labor and Legislative Operations and Elections committees. Commissioner Kirkpatrick is a native Nevadan, who grew up in Clark County. She graduated from Western High School and attended Krolack Business School and the Community College of Southern Nevada. She is dedicated to her community, leading initiatives like "ShotSpotter" to reduce crime and "Pathway from Poverty" to support local families.

One member who represents the private nonprofit health insurer with the highest percentage of insureds in this State who are adversely impacted by social determinants of health.

Ms. Bethany Sexton

Chair
Bethany Sexton is a healthcare executive who has brought leadership and expertise to Nevada’s only not for profit integrated academic health system, Renown Health, for over a decade.  She has led high-impact initiatives in areas including population health, clinical and health plan operations, value-based contracting, decision support, process improvement, and revenue cycle management. She uses this diverse background as CEO of Hometown Health, Renown Health’s insurance plan. Prior to her role as CEO of Hometown Health, Bethany served as Chief Transformation Officer at Renown, driving strategic growth and transformation across the health system. Bethany has a strong focus on delivering value-based care and creating an environment where employees live their passion while caring for our community.

Before joining Renown in 2014, Bethany was the Vice President of Revenue Cycle at the largest provider of integrated health services in the south Puget Sound in Washington: MultiCare Health System. Bethany received her bachelor's degree in business administration and management at Western Washington University and her master's degree in business administration at the University of Nevada, Reno. She is adjunct faculty at the University of Nevada Reno School of Medicine, is the past board chair of Immunize Nevada and a past board member of the Nevada Women's Fund.

One member who has expertise and experience in advocating for persons who are not covered by a policy of health insurance.

VACANT

One member who has expertise and experience in advocating for persons with special health care needs and has education and experience in health care.

Dr. Andria Peterson

Vice Chair
Dr. Andria Peterson joined Roseman University’s College of Medicine as Executive Director of the EMPOWERED program in 2021.  Prior to this role, she spent 12 years working as a clinical pharmacist in the pediatric and newborn intensive care units (NICU) at St. Rose Dominican Hospital.  It was during this time that she co-founded the EMPOWERED program, a care coordination model designed to help pregnant and postpartum women with substance use disorders navigate the path from recovery to stabilization to resilience.  Dr. Peterson is responsible for providing leadership for the program and plays a critical role in mobilizing state, local and grass-roots level stakeholders to promote recovery and improvements in the quality of life for program participants and their families.  She serves as Chair of the Department of Bioethics, Humanism and Policy, and as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Clinical Sciences within the College of Medicine.

Dr. Peterson was appointed by Governor Joe Lombardo in October of 2023 to serve on Nevada’s Patient Protection Commission. She is also a founding core team member of the Nevada Perinatal Health Initiative and has worked on a state level to develop policy for the training of providers in identifying individuals with substance use disorder. She has been the recipient of numerous grants and awards, including an honorable mention by The Arnold P. Gold Foundation for the Pearl Birnbaum Hurwitz Humanism in Healthcare Award, recognition as a Public Health Hero by the Southern Nevada Health District, recognition as a Southern Nevada Healthcare Hero, recipient of the Nevada Hospital Association Imagination award, and has received a Clark County Medical Society Winged Heart award, and Dignity Health Acts of Human kindness Steward Award for her efforts.

One member who is an employee or a consultant of Department of Health and Human Services with expertise in health information technology and patient access to medical records.

Dr. Jonathan Chastain

Dr. Jonathan Chastain, DO, is a board-certified psychiatrist and clinical informaticist who serves as a Clinical Informaticist for the Nevada Health Authority, and holds an academic appointment as Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine. His work centers on the use of clinical data and digital infrastructure to improve care delivery, patient outcomes, and health system performance. He has extensive experience in electronic health record governance, clinical decision support system design and oversight, and responsible applications of machine learning in healthcare.

Dr. Chastain has practiced within innovative care models, including the Collaborative Care Model and value-based care programs, where he has evaluated the impact of clinical interventions on utilization and population health outcomes. He has contributed to the development of clinical data infrastructure that supports scalable analytics, advances clinical research, and informs strategic decision-making. His professional interests focus on building learning health systems that integrate informatics and clinical evidence to achieve measurable improvements in care delivery and patient outcomes. 

Representative of the General Public

VACANT

Ex- Officio, Non-voting Members

Director of the Nevada Health Authority

Insurance Commissioner of the Nevada Division of Insurance

Executive Director of the Silver State Health Insurance Exchange

Executive Officer of the Public Employees' Benefits Program