Jennifer Shuford named DSHS commissioner

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Dr. Jennifer Shuford has been named commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services, state officers introduced Tuesday.

Shuford’s management of the division was made everlasting months after she took over, in an interim capability, for longtime commissioner Dr. John Hellerstedt following his September retirement. Shuford has labored on the division since 2017.

“Dr. Shuford has demonstrated an exceptional commitment and passion for public service. Her extensive experience and knowledge in public health will serve Texans well as she assumes this new role,” Cecile Erwin Young, the manager commissioner of Texas Health and Human Services, mentioned in a press release Tuesday. The well being division falls below Texas Health and Human Services.

Before serving as interim commissioner, Shuford was the chief state epidemiologist on the well being division, and she or he was credited with supporting the state’s public well being response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Shuford got here to DSHS after working towards as an infectious illness doctor in Austin.

DSHS is the governmental company that oversees public well being operations for the state. It has a workers of greater than 3,500 workers and a multibillion-dollar finances that ballooned in recent times as a result of pandemic.

Headquartered in Austin with about 100 places of work all through the state, DSHS additionally serves as the first public well being company in 164 Texas counties. The company helps and oversees immunization companies, communicable illness investigation and reporting, and public well being emergency preparedness and response.