Air Force Lt Col Krista Mehlhaff was born and raised in the East Bay in California.  She earned her Bachelors of Science from the University of California at Davis with a major in Exercise Physiology where she was also a Swimmer and Diver.  Before starting medical school she worked as an Emergency Medical Technician.  She graduated from Medical School in 2008 and went on to complete a Traditional internship before starting her OB/Gyn Residency training at Wright Patterson AFB/Wright State University.

Air Force Lt Col Mehlhaff’s first assignment was as a staff OB/Gyn at WPAFB in Dayton Ohio.   There she was an Assistant Professor at Wright State University.  She was also the Medical Director of Labor and Delivery and in charge of simulation training at WPAFB.  It was in this role that she developed her passion for patient safety and quality care.

In 2016, she moved to New Haven CT where she would complete a fellowship in Maternal Fetal Medicine at Yale University. During her time at Yale she was an active member of the Severe Maternal Morbidity Review Committee, Fetal Care program and OB Patient Safety Committee. She also helped develop the Prenatal Palliative Care program.  Her thesis focused on teamwork and collaboration in the care of laboring women.

She is now a Maternal Fetal Medicine Physician at WRNMMC in the Perinatal Assessment Center.  She is an Assistant Professor at the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences.

She is the co-lead for the DHA WICC SMM Working Group. Her research and professional focus’ are:  teamwork and collaborative practice, patient safety and quality improvement in Obstetrics, severe maternal mortality and morbidity and perinatal palliative care.