Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health board selects new director

The board of Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health has selected Jonathan Smith, of Lawrence, as the next director of the health department.

“Jonathan has been working to address  health equity and quality improvement throughout his career in many ways from working at Federally Qualified Health Clinics in Michigan and across the state of Kansas and working with the Health Information Exchange through KAMMCO Health Solutions in Topeka,” according to a news release from LDCPH.

Smith earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Western Michigan University and a Master of Public Health from Dartmouth College, according to the release. He will begin his new role on July 26.

“I’m humbled to have been selected by the LDCPH board to help lead the work in addressing social determinants of health for all of Douglas County,” Smith said in the release. “I’m beyond excited to work with the talented staff at LDCPH to ensure that whole-person care is accessible to everyone in our community.”

In this position, Smith will shift his focus from clinical operations to rather direct his energy toward advancing policies, practices and programs that promote health for all, prevent disease and protect the environment, according to the release.

“We are so grateful for the amazing work of the LDCPH staff to address health equity especially over these last several challenging years,” Erika Dvorske, LDCPH health board chair, said in the release. “Today we are excited by the opportunity to continue to broaden our engagement and visibility in the community with Jonathan’s leadership.” 

Director Dan Partridge will retire effective Thursday. Sonia Jordan, current director of informatics, will serve as interim director from Friday, June 16 through July 25.

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