Breena Holmes
Professor, Pediatrics
Senior Faculty, Vermont Child Health Improvement Program (VCHIP)
PRONOUNS she/her
- M.D., University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA
- B.A., cum laude, Biology, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH
- Chief Pediatric Resident, University of Massachusetts Medical Center, Worcester, MA
- Pediatric Resident, Seattle Children's Hospital and Medical Center, University of Washington Affiliate, Seattle, WA
Areas of expertise
public health leadership, child health advocacy, pediatric healthcare delivery, healthcare quality improvement, public health-clinical medicine integration, healthcare reform, federal grant administration, school health policy.
BIO
Breena Welch Holmes is a general pediatrician and a Professor of Pediatrics at the Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont. She is senior faculty at the Vermont Child Health Improvement Program, a population-based maternal and child health services research and quality improvement program of the University of Vermont. Dr Holmes serves as faculty in the Perinatal Quality Collaborative-VT, the early childhood systems work including DULCE approach, a lead Touchpoints facilitator and integration of mental health into primary care, as well as a liaison to Vermont state government entities which serve children and families. Dr Holmes specializes in the integration of public health and healthcare delivery.
Publications
Awards and Achievements
- Inaugural recipient of the Breena W. Holmes MD School Nurse Champion Award
- Bi-State Primary Care Public Service Award
- KidSafe Collaborative’s 2021 Outstanding Collaboration Award
- Green Mountain Pediatrician Award
- American Academy of Pediatrics Annual Leadership Forum
- Outstanding Leadership Award for work on Council on School Health
- Vermont State School Nurses’ Association J Ward Stackpole Award
- David Goldberg Child and Youth Advocacy Award American Academy of Pediatric VT Special Achievement Award
Bio
Breena Welch Holmes is a general pediatrician and a Professor of Pediatrics at the Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont. She is senior faculty at the Vermont Child Health Improvement Program, a population-based maternal and child health services research and quality improvement program of the University of Vermont. Dr Holmes serves as faculty in the Perinatal Quality Collaborative-VT, the early childhood systems work including DULCE approach, a lead Touchpoints facilitator and integration of mental health into primary care, as well as a liaison to Vermont state government entities which serve children and families. Dr Holmes specializes in the integration of public health and healthcare delivery.
Publications
Awards and Achievements
- Inaugural recipient of the Breena W. Holmes MD School Nurse Champion Award
- Bi-State Primary Care Public Service Award
- KidSafe Collaborative’s 2021 Outstanding Collaboration Award
- Green Mountain Pediatrician Award
- American Academy of Pediatrics Annual Leadership Forum
- Outstanding Leadership Award for work on Council on School Health
- Vermont State School Nurses’ Association J Ward Stackpole Award
- David Goldberg Child and Youth Advocacy Award American Academy of Pediatric VT Special Achievement Award
Select Publications
- American Academy of Pediatrics policy, Role of School Nurse in Providing School Health Services, lead author Pediatrics June 2016, VOLUME 137 / ISSUE 6, revised February 2026.
- American Academy of Pediatrics publications, Promoting the Mental Health in Children and Adolescents 2018 Chapter 18, Promoting the Health of Adolescents co-author.
- Beattie, H., FitzGerald, C., Koller, S., Scott, K, Garnett, B.R and Holmes, B. Impact of Engaging Students in Health Survey Data Analysis and as Full Partners in School Change: Results from a Mixed Methods Study Health Promotion Practice, October 2021.
- Kasehagen, Laurin, Laurel Omland, Melissa Bailey, Charlie Biss, Breena Holmes and Patsy Tassler Kelso, Relationship of Adverse Family Experiences to Resilience and School Engagement Among Vermont Youth, MaternChild Health J 2018 03;22(3):298-307.
- Garnett, Bernice MPH, ScD, Helen Beattie, EdD, Sharon Koller, MS, Mika Moore, MA, Karen Scott, MEd, Michelle Maseroni, BS, Breena Holmes, MD, Participatory Survey Data Analysis as Catalyst for Empowering Youth as School Health Change Agents, Health Promotion Practice Journal 2019.
Academic Appointments
Senior Faculty, Vermont Child Health Improvement Program (VCHIP) (2020-present)
Clinical Professor of Pediatrics, The Robert Larner, M.D. College of Medicine at The University of Vermont, Burlington, VT (2023-present)
Other Professional Appointments
Physician Advisor to Maternal and Child Health Division at Vermont Department of Health (2020-present)
Director: Maternal and Child Health, Vermont Department of Health, Burlington, VT (2010-2020)
Past Chair of the AAP Council on School Health