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DeSalvo made her way from New Orleans to Washington and while serving as National Coordinator, she realigned ONC and delivered visionary strategic plans for interoperability and health IT, before President Obama nominated her to a key HHS post.

As Karen DeSalvo, MD, prepares to take the reins as national coordinator for health information technology in 2014, here are 10 aspects of her background that may help define how she'll carry on the crucial work of her predecessors.

Karen DeSalvo is certainly more than qualified to head up ONC, having brought post-Katrina New Orleans up to snuff on electronic health records and more. How well do you know her background? Here are some lesser-known facts.

Among this week's people on the move, ONC welcomes a new national coordinator, and ClearDATA gains a senior vice president.

HHS appointed a new chief to head the Office of the National Coordinator on Thursday, and so far the decision has been lauded by industry leaders.

HHS appointed a new chief to head the Office of the National Coordinator Dec. 19, and so far the decision has been lauded by industry leaders.

Karen DeSalvo, MD, front-runner of healthcare in post-Katrina New Orleans and healthcare IT champion, will take over the Office of the National Coordinator in mid-January.

New Orleans Health Commissioner Karen DeSalvo, MD, will take over as national coordinator for health information technology, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced Dec. 19.

When asked what a powerful health information exchange (HIE) is built upon, one might immediately think of computer accounts, files upon files of paper medical reports converted into megabytes, laptop, screens and data synapses sparking the air between them.

It was a task that extended beyond hammers and nails. After the blow of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the greater New Orleans area was faced with the challenge of rebuilding its internal public health structure - beyond the material repair of roofs and floors, waiting rooms and patient rooms.