As Chief Nurse, RDML Jennifer Moon advises the Office of the Surgeon General and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on the recruitment, assignment, deployment, retention, and career development of nurse professionals.

RDML Moon began her nursing career as an emergency department (ED) fellow at the Washington Hospital Center in Washington, DC. After honing her skills as an ED nurse, she sought out opportunities in the health insurance industry.

Her successful search led her to the Utilization Review, Medical Management, and Special Investigation Units at both CareFirst and WellPoint Blue Cross Blue Shield. In 2002, RDML Moon took a position as a nurse consultant for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) at the Atlanta Regional Office. At CMS, RDML Moon was a federal surveyor of nursing homes, ICF-MR, psychiatric hospitals, and hospice facilities.

RDML Moon first became acquainted with the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) Commissioned Corps at the Atlanta Regional Office; however, she didn’t commission into the USPHS until she moved to CMS Headquarters in Baltimore, Maryland. A year later, RDML Moon transferred to the Division of Immigration Health Services (DIHS, now IHSC) as a Managed Care Coordinator where she worked for several years before becoming the DIHS Nurse Epidemiologist and working on infection control and TB case management for five years, excluding one year as a Watch Officer at the Department of Homeland Security’s National Operations Center (NOC).

In February 2013, RDML Moon transferred back to CMS to work on the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplaces. While at CMS, she became the ACA non-discrimination standards subject matter expert. In December 2015, RDML Moon returned to IHSC to serve as the Eastern Regional Field Medical Coordinator in the Medical Case Management Unit. A year later, RDML Moon assumed the role of Unit Chief for Medical Quality Management and worked diligently to staff and enhance Risk Management and Quality Improvement programs.

Since November 2018, RDML Moon has served as the Deputy Assistant Director (DAD) for Healthcare Compliance and Chief Compliance Officer at IHSC. In her role as DAD, RDML Moon has oversight of several programs to include field medical coordination, managed care coordination, quality improvement, risk management, compliance and accreditation, patient education, utilization management, medical claims administration, provider network management, and medical claims investigation.

RDML Moon is a board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner and completed her doctoral degree in nursing practice at the University of Maryland in 2020 with a concentration on healthcare management and evidence-based practice.

RDML Moon’s vision for the Nurse Category and the USPHS Commissioned Corps is the pursuit of excellence. The framework of this vision is captured within the concepts of Honor, Obligation, Purpose, and Empowerment (HOPE).  RDML Moon believes that nurses are the heart and the HOPE of the USPHS Commissioned Corps as well as the health of the nation. 

RDML Moon’s goals include development of a strategic action plan founded on HOPE and within the context of the Surgeon General’s priorities, leveraging available resources to support and advance nursing competencies and proficiencies, and ensuring a national sense of recognition for the USPHS Commissioned Corps.