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 Former Massachusetts Commissioner of Public Health Howard Koh assumed his official duties as head of the Division of Public Health Practice on September 1. Koh is professor of health policy and management and associate dean for public health practice.
At the Division of Public Health Practice, Koh will focus on supporting efforts underway there to develop the next generation of public health leaders through training and research programs. In addition, he will serve on a working committee at HSPH aimed at teaching researchers health communication skills. Research at the Division of Public Health Practice will continue to be directed at a range of issues, such as bioterrorism response and violence prevention. Joining Koh will be Christie Hager in the newly created position of deputy director of the Division of Public Health Practice. A lawyer and public health professional, Hager was the first Senior Fellow appointed at the Schneider Institute for Health Policy at Brandeis University’s Heller Graduate School, where she has been the Director of the Massachusetts Health Policy Forum for the past four years. Hager’s work experiences include positions as senior research analyst for the Massachusetts Legislature’s Joint Committee on Health Care and as a member of the editorial staff of the New England Journal of Medicine. She currently serves as president of the Massachusetts Public Health Association; is chair of the American Public Health Association’s (APHA) Health Law Forum; and serves on the APHA’s Governing Council. The Division of Public Health Practice is located at 1552 Tremont St. The phone number is 617-495-4000. Harvard Public Health NOW is published biweekly by the Office of Communications Harvard School of Public Health 665 Huntington Ave., SPH 1-1312 Boston, Massachusetts 02115 617-432-6052 Editor and Layout: Christina Roache Contributing Writer: Mark Dwortzan Calendar Editor: Melitta King Photos Credits: Richard Chase, Suzanne Camarata, Graham Ramsay, Christina Roache Archived Issues || HSPH Home Copyright, 2007, President and Fellows of Harvard College |
As Public
Health Commissioner, Koh helped guide efforts to promote healthier communities
through advances in many areas, among them: tobacco control, AIDS treatment
and prevention, substance abuse services, cancer screening and prevention,
public health hospitals, newborn screening, health issues of the homeless,
coordination of emergency medical services, promotion of mental health
as a vital part of public health, organ donation, bioterrorism response
and the integration of human rights and public health. He strengthened
the Massachusetts Department of Public Health’s commitment to diversity
and to eliminating health disparities through a variety of innovative
measures.