Shereef Elnahal

On June 24th, 2019, Dr. Elnahal authorized NJ's paramedics to administer buprenorphine in the field after naloxone administration at the time of overdose. Although buprenorphine use for withdrawal management is technically off-label, the Rationale is to manage a patient's withdrawal symptoms and cravings immediately after revival, in order to encourage more to accept transport to the emergency room for further care. NJ is the first state in the nation to take this step, and received national attention for doing so.

Shereef Elnahal was nominated in January 2018 to serve in the Cabinet of New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy. He was approved by the New Jersey Senate on March 8, 2018 and sworn in April 2, 2018. He is the first Muslim-American to serve in the cabinet. He will resign July 1, 2019 to become president/CEO of University Hospital in Newark.

Elnahal was appointed to the White House Fellows program by President Barack Obama in 2015.

Elnahal is the son of physicians who moved to the United States from Egypt. He grew up in Linwood and Galloway Township and attended St. Augustine Preparatory School before transferring to and graduating from Mainland Regional High School in 2003.

Shereef Elnahal (born June 5, 1985) is an American physician who served as the 21st Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Health in the State of New Jersey. In July 2019 he became president/CEO of University Hospital in Newark.