January 5, 2009
State Health Director Devlin Retiring
Apparently Leah Devlin, DDS, MPH, North Carolina’s State Health Director and Director of the NC Division of Public Health announced her retirement today – effective the end of this month. With 30 years of service in public health, Dr. Devlin has been a central figure in improving health care and preventing disease for all North Carolinians. She is a strong advocate for better preventive health care, a higher cigarette tax, lower teen smoking rates, and better quality public health services.
She’s also been rumored to be in the running for the next state Department of Health and Human Services Secretary. She’d be a great one, but maybe this is a sign that other rumored picks – like former Republican legislator Lanier Cansler – are a more likely choice.
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4 Comments Add yours »
Devlin is also one of the most open and responsive state officials to questions from the press. That transparency will be sorely missed if she is not appointed to a new position in Perdue’s administration.
I mightbe wrong but it’s interesting that per N.C.G.S. she was never qualified to be state health director. That job is supposed to be filled by an M.D. with an M.PH., correct?
The law was changed to allow her to serve as permanent state health director – she does have two graduate degrees in health care after all!
regarding tobacco, its too bad North Carolina has fallen behind South Carolina with regards to public smoking bans. Even bars in Columbia are smoke free now. Public health in NC has as many problems as the mental health agencies, there just hasnt been as much media coverage of them.