After months with no leader, Fayette County Health Department hires new commissioner
The agency responsible for the city’s response to the coronavirus pandemic has finally hired a new leader.
The Lexington-Fayette County Health Department’s board voted Jan. 9 to hire Dr. Sheila Owens-Collins as its new health commissioner.
Owens-Collins began Tuesday. She replaces Dr. Joel McCullough who resigned in July after serving approximately six months in the position.
Dr. Kraig Humbaugh, who previously held the position, had to delay his retirement multiple times after the department struggled to find a replacement. Humbaugh, who led the department during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, retired in December 2021.
There has been a shortage of public health leaders across the country since the start of the pandemic. A 2021 Kaiser Health News and Associated Press analysis found more than 180 state and local public health leaders in at least 38 states have resigned, retired or been fired.
Owens-Collins previously served as medical director of Health Equity-Innovations, Strategies and Outcomes Research at Johns Hopkins HealthCare.
“I am excited to be part of a health department that is known for being leaders in public health,” Owens-Collins said. “It is an honor to have the board of health’s support in continuing the mission of helping Lexington be well.”
Owens-Collins has degrees in both public health and business.
Owens-Collins earned a medical degree from the Baylor College of Medicine, a Master of Public Health degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, a Master in Business Administration from Rice University and an executive MBA from Rice.
Jessica Cobb has served as interim director during the search for a permanent leader.
The department, which has more than 150 employees, helps coordinate the city’s responses to contagious diseases, such as COVID, operates the city’s needle-exchange program, a public health clinic, does various inspections, including restaurant inspections, and operates a host of other health-related programs.
