November 20, 2017

Missouri Dept. of Health and Senior Services director joins board of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials

JEFFERSON CITY, MO - Dr. Randall Williams, director of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS), will be joining the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) National Board of Directors as Region VII Director. One of 10 regional representatives, Williams will attend meetings and leadership events across the country on behalf of Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska.

ASTHO, which recently celebrated its 75th anniversary, is a nonprofit organization representing public health agencies across the country with a membership of more than 100,000 public health professionals. According to the ASTHO website, their members \"formulate and influence sound public health policy and ensure excellence in state-based public health practice.\"

\"It's a privilege to work with colleagues that I admire and respect. I hold ASTHO and its membership in the highest esteem and look forward to serving to the very best of my ability,\" said Dr. Williams.

\"I have visited all 115 counties in Missouri to take a history and get a ground-level perspective on the health concerns facing our state,\" he continued. \"But Missouri's health doesn't begin or end at our borders: it is influenced by our neighboring states, the nation and even on a global scale. Several of my colleagues from ASTHO have become valuable partners as we face complex health issues in Missouri and around the United States, including Dr. Jerome Adams, U.S. Surgeon General, and Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald, director of the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention.\"

Dr. Fitzgerald will be visiting Missouri on April 10 to participate in a meeting of the state's local public health agency stakeholders and Women's Health Council.

About the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials: ASTHO is the national nonprofit organization representing the public health agencies of the United States, the U.S. territories and freely associated states, and the District of Columbia, as well as the more than 100,000 public health professionals these agencies employ. More information about ASTHO can be found at astho.org.

About the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services: The department seeks to be the leader in promoting, protecting and partnering for health. More information about DHSS can be found at health.mo.gov.

Attachment: Photograph of Dr. Williams and Dr. Adams at the ASTHO 75th Anniversary Conference


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