ASTHO Statement on the Appointment of CDC Director, Robert Redfield

March 23, 2018

ARLINGTON, VA—John Wiesman, ASTHO president and secretary of health at the Washington State Department of Health, issued the following statement on the appointment of Dr. Redfield as the director of CDC.

“ASTHO looks forward to meeting and building a positive working relationship with Robert Redfield, MD, the new director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). As the nation’s premiere resource for public health practitioners and their partners, CDC provides critical resources, scientific expertise, and technical assistance to state, local, and national programs to strengthen public health capacity, share timely and critical information, and improve health and save lives daily.”

“ASTHO believes a strong CDC is essential to the strength, economic well-being, and productivity of the American public. We are eager to share the priorities and perspectives of state health leaders and continue to ensure the use of sound scientific evidence when making policy decisions to protect, improve, and promote our nation’s public health. We are confident that Dr. Redfield will value and draw upon the expertise of state and local public health leaders as he begins his tenure as director of the agency.”

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ASTHO is the national nonprofit organization representing the public health agencies of the United States, the U.S. territories and freely associated states, and Washington, D.C., as well as the more than 100,000 public health professionals these agencies employ. ASTHO members, the chief health officials of these jurisdictions, are dedicated to formulating and influencing sound public health policy and to ensuring excellence in public health practice.