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Language
English
Title and Department
Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine
General Internal Medicine and Public Health
Assistant Professor of Health Policy
Director
Health and Wellness Program
Professional bio
Mary Yarbrough, MD, MPH, is an Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of General Internal Medicine and Public Health and the Executive Director of Occupational Health and Wellness for Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

She is boarded in internal medicine, general preventive medicine and public health and occupational medicine. She joined the Vanderbilt faculty following a career in preventive medicine at the state, national, and international levels. As one of the first physicians boarded in preventive medicine to practice at VUMC, Dr. Yarbrough translated her experiences into a holistic occupational model integrating workplace, personal, and psychological services into a single biopsychosocial model, influencing the health, safety, and human performance of over 41,000 faculty, staff, and affiliates of VUMC and Vanderbilt University.

Dr. Yarbrough developed collaborative services for occupational medicine, behavioral health, including “Work/Life Connections” (WLC), and health promotion and prevention. Her work with WLC established the faculty and physician wellness and the nursing wellness programs to address the behavioral needs of professionals, among the first such programs in the country that supports 6-7% of the clinicians annually; the sexual harassment awareness response and education program; the VWell program empowering clinician well-being; and the hardship fund addressing employee financial need. The Occupational Health Center oversees 50 hazard protection and treatment programs, including immunizations.

Dr. Yarbrough has established ergonomic programs across clinical, research and administrative areas as well as the first employer-based diabetes prevention program recognized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The “Go for the Gold” health prevention program mitigating health risks engages over 15,000 people each year. VUMC occupational programs have been recognized nationally and internationally, including receiving the prestigious C. Everett Koop Award and the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine’s Corporate Health Achievement Award.

Dr. Yarbrough’s research interest includes personal protective equipment surveillance, diabetes prevention, and clinician well-being.
Education