Gov. Rick Snyder has announced the appointments of 18 members to the Public Health Advisory Commission, including MSU College of Human Medicine faculty, Mona Hanna-Attisha and Debra Furr-Holden, as well as College of Nursing faculty Ann Sheehan and Melinda Wilkins in the College of Veterinary Medicine.
The 24-member commission will complete an assessment of the current public health service delivery system in Michigan, at both the state and local level. It will include a review of the organization of public health functions within and across the executive departments of this state; the division of responsibilities between state and local public health authorities; and the regulatory framework established by the Public Health Code, 1978 PA 368.
Representing epidemiologists is Debra Furr-Holden a Charles Stewart Mott Endowed Professor of Public Health at the College of Human Medicine. Mona Hanna-Attisha, representing physicians, is the director of the pediatric residency program at Hurley Medical Center in Flint and is an assistant professor of pediatrics and human development at the College of Human Medicine.
Also appointed to the commission representing registered nurses is Ann Sheehan, an assistant professor of nursing, as well as Melinda Wilkins, director of the Online Master of Science Food Safety. Wilkins will represent veterinarians.
The state’s Chief Medical Executive, Dr. Eden Wells, will be a voting member and serve as chair. In addition to the 18 new appointees, five department heads or their designees will serve as non-voting, ex-officio members from the Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development, Environmental Quality, Health and Human Services, Licensing and Regulatory Affairs and the Michigan State Police.
The commission is to complete its work and issue a final report to the Governor for his consideration no later than April 1, 2017.