Navy veteran assumes chief medical officer role at Little Clinic

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Little Clinic last week named Marc Watkins chief medical officer. Watkins formerly served as VP and medical director for the company.

In his new role, Watkins will oversee the hundreds of board-certified nurse practitioners and physician assistants who staff the company’s nearly 200 locations, as well as provide strategic guidance on the continued growth of The Little Clinic within the retail healthcare sector.

"Dr. Watkins is a strategic thinker with a bold and passionate vision for delivering quality healthcare in a rapidly-changing, consumer focused economy," stated Colleen Lindholz, president and CEO of The Little Clinic. “We are excited to see him take his leadership and expertise to the next level in this new role."

Watkins joined The Little Clinic in 2015. Prior to joining The Little Clinic, Watkins spent six years with Concentra Health Services in various physician leadership roles and most recently was national medical director-clinical account management, providing strategic, operational and clinical program development to major employers across the country.

Watkins received his BA in philosophy and pre-medical studies from Holy Cross in Massachusetts, his MD and his MPH from Meharry Medical College in Tennessee. His residency training was in general surgery at the National Capital Consortium, U.S. Navy – Bethesda, and in occupational & environmental medicine at Meharry Medical College.

He is board certified in Occupational & Environmental Medicine and earned distinction as a Fellow of the American College of Occupational & Environmental Medicine. He is also clinical adjunct faculty in the Department of Family Medicine at Meharry.

Watkins served five years active duty in the U.S. Navy serving exclusively with the U.S. Marines. He was twice awarded the Navy Commendation Medal in direct support of combat operations while assigned in Iraq. He was honorably discharged in 2010 as a Lieutenant Commander.

Watkins also is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives and American College of Physician Executives and the American Association for Physician Leadership.