Washington Announces Next Secretary Of Health

OLYMPIA, WA — On December 21, Washington state will have a new top health official.

Back in spring, current secretary of health John Wiesman announced that he would be stepping down, after heading the Washington State Department of Health for nearly eight years. Wiesman announced his intention to step down early, in part to avoid his departure distracting from the state's COVID-19 pandemic response.

"There is much work that remains to be done in the upcoming eight months before I leave this position," Wiesman said at the time of his announcement. "Most pressing, and job number one, is continuing to mount a strong, coordinated response to the COVID-19 disease outbreak here in Washington State, so we can have a safe start to reopening the economy and protecting the public's health."

Inslee first appointed Wiesman to the position back in April 2013. Wiesmen had previously worked at four public health departments in Washington state, and in Connecticut.

Wiesman's departure is unrelated to the current pandemic: he had accepted a faculty position at University of North Carolina's Gillings School of Global Public Health before the health crisis began. He will begin working there next July.

"Serving as the secretary of health under Governor Inslee's leadership has been a true honor, and leading the dedicated employees of the Department of Health is an opportunity I have treasured," Wiesman said.

Tuesday, Gov. Jay Inslee held a news conference to announce that Wiesman would be replaced by Dr. Umair Shah. Shah lead the Harris County Public Health Department in Houston, Texas for the past seven years. Previously, he worked as an emergency department physician and as Chief Medical Officer for the Galveston County Health District.

Inslee introduced Shah as nationally recognized leader in health issues, and a strong proponent of health care equity — an important quality considering the coronavirus pandemic's disproportionate impact on BIPOC residents and communities of color.

"He has an informed appreciation for equity issues, which we are particularly appreciative of now, particularly regarding the disparity of outcomes in this particular pandemic," Inslee said.

Shah also spoke at Tuesday's conference, thanking Inslee for the opportunity and touching on issues of equity, and other issues the state health department is tackling.

"I also am equally privileged to join you and your vision of health," Shah said. "I know your focus obviously right now is on COVID-19, but well beyond COVID-19 everything else that is happening in the state of Washington related to health equity, related to issues in the environment, related to healthcare access, and certainly so many other ways of really making sure that we're ensuring the health and wellbeing of all Washingtonians. It's a great honor."

Wiesman also congratulated the incoming Secretary of Health on his appointment.

"I am leaving the Washington State Department of Health in good hands," Wiesman said. "I have known and worked with Umair for over a decade. He is a thoughtful, knowledgeable and energetic leader. He brings with him deep public health expertise, passion for addressing health inequities, and emergency response experience, all of which will serve the state very well right now during this pandemic and for the years to come."

Shah had previously led Harris County through the appearances of the swine flu, Ebola, and Zika virus, and now the coronavirus pandemic.

“I am beyond honored to be asked by Governor Inslee to serve as Washington’s next secretary of health, building onto the dedicated team and strong leadership championed by John Wiesman at the Department of Health,” Shah said. “Without question, the number one priority for me is to work with the team to continue the fight against COVID-19 and help Washingtonians through these challenging times."

Shah's jump from the head of a county health department to the head of a state's department of health may not be as big as it sounds: Texas has been hit significantly harder by the COVID-19 pandemic, and Harris County alone has seen nearly 44,000 more cases of the coronavirus than all of Washington state.

Inslee closed out his portion of the conference by thanking Wiesman for his years of work, and his support in the state's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We're gonna miss John Wiesman. His work during this pandemic has been just exceptional, and I think its shown success," Inslee said. "As you know we have kept the infection rate below probably 40, 45 states in large part because of John's consistent leadership."