Gov. Lamont Taps Yale Doctor To Lead CT Public Health Department

New Haven CT

26 July, 2021

4:45 PM

Description

NEW HAVEN, CT —Governor Ned Lamont today announced that he is nominating Dr. Manisha Juthani to serve as commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Public Health. Dr. Juthani is an infectious diseases physician at Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, where she specializes in the diagnosis, management, and prevention of infections in older adults. Her most recent area of interest is at the interface of infectious diseases and palliative care, including the role of antibiotics at the end of life. She completed her undergraduate training at the University of Pennsylvania, attended Cornell University Medical College, completed residency training at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Campus, and was a chief resident at Memorial-Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. She arrived at Yale School of Medicine in 2002 for infectious diseases fellowship training and joined the faculty full-time in 2006. She assumed the role of infectious diseases fellowship program director in 2012. I am so honored to serve as the next Commissioner of @CTDPH. Advocating for public health during this pandemic and beyond is the opportunity of a lifetime. I look forward to serving the citizens of CT. https://t.co/6LD04P5iUW— Manisha Juthani, MD, FIDSA, FSHEA, FACP (@DrJuthani) July 27, 2021 "Dr. Juthani's background in infectious diseases will be a tremendous benefit to the people of Connecticut as we continue to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and strengthen our vaccination efforts," Lamont said. Lamont said that Juthani was "recommended by many top experts in this field..." "I'm incredibly proud that Connecticut is among the leading states in vaccinating our residents, but as this pandemic continues, we need to implement sound policies that will keep the rates of transmission as low as possible," he said. Juthani will succeed Dr. Deidre Gifford as head of the state's public health agency. For the last 14 months, Dr. Gifford has been serving dual roles within the Lamont administration. Although her primary position is as commissioner of the Department of Social Services, in May 2020 she agreed to also serve as commissioner of the Department of Public Health in an acting capacity while a search was underway to permanently fill the position. Lamont said that Dr. Gifford's dedication to the residents of Connecticut throughout the pandemic and her leadership skills in managing two state agencies during such a trying time have been extraordinary. That is why he announced today that as she transitions away from the Department of Public Health, he is tasking Dr. Gifford with the additional duty of serving as Senior Advisor to the Governor for Health and Human Services. Juthani said she was grateful to Gifford and other public health civil servants. "Under Dr. Gifford's leadership, I look forward to continuing their efforts related to COVID-19, mental health, health equity, health disparities, and access to healthcare going forward," she said. Juthani will begin at the Department of Public Health on Monday, September 20, 2021. On this date, Gifford will transition back to solely leading the Department of Social Services, while maintaining a close connection with Dr. Juthani to provide counsel as the response to the pandemic continues. In her new role, Gifford will be tasked with coordinating a multi-agency approach among the state's nine health and human services agencies to improving health and healthcare in Connecticut. Lamont explained that these nine agencies serve many overlapping populations and provide similar programs and functions, however they often are not optimally coordinated. As Senior Advisor to the Governor for Health and Human Services, Dr. Gifford will convene and lead coordination efforts between these agencies, working closely with the Office of Policy and Management, as well as provide the governor with policy input and recommendations that address issues of health, healthcare costs, quality, and disparities. Although she is taking on this added responsibility, Dr. Gifford's primary role in the administration will continue to be as commissioner of the Department of Social Services. The commissioners of the nine health and human service agencies will maintain all statutorily defined responsibilities and authorities.