Dearborn Brings Back Health Department, Names New Director

DEARBORN, MI — The City of Dearborn appointed Ali Abazeed as the inaugural director of the city’s newly established Department of Public Health on Wednesday, according to a news release.

Abazeed, 31, is a Dearborn native and brings decades of research in public health to the department. He also led an initiative with the Harvard T.H Chan School of Public Health to create the first-ever National Framework for Policy Implementation Science, a discipline devoted to evaluating the translation of scientific research into public policy.

"I am honored and excited for the opportunity to help establish a Department of Public Health for my hometown," Abazeed said. " I look forward to building a department that addresses the broad range of factors that impact a person’s health—including where they live, learn, work, and play."

Dearborn previously had a public health department, but it closed down in 2011 because of budget problems. This new department will be different, the city said. The new approach will employ Public Health 2.0 and 3.0 models that focus on rigorous population level assessment, policy development, and the social determinants of health.

"This department is about being accountable to our residents and no longer deferring our responsibility for the public’s health to other venues," Dearborn Mayor Abdullah H. Hammoud said. "By engaging in cross-sector collaboration, conducting a needs assessment, prioritizing environmental justice, and collecting timely, reliable data to assess the impact of prevention initiatives, the City of Dearborn can be a leader in advancing population health and health equity."