(Cleveland) - At the height of the coronavirus pandemic, the City of Cleveland will be looking for a new Health Commissioner. Health Commissioner Persis Sosiak handed in her resignation Tuesday, effective Friday, February 5, 2021.
When Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson reorganized the city health department in August, Sosiak was one of two employees who were targeted for pre-disciplinary reviews.
Sosiak's position will be posted after her departure. The city will appoint an acting commissioner.
The city also says that as part of a partnership, Case Western Reserve University will assist the city Department of Public Health with building the capacity of the Epidemiology Unit. This will provide the city with support elements needed to strengthen the Epidemiology Unit. The city says a team of Case Western Reserve epidemiologists will help the CDPH epidemiology team manage, analyze and display the data necessary to optimize the COVID response. Another part of the CWRU team will help the public health system use the data to address outbreak response, vaccine distribution and community concerns.
The city has posted positions for a Chief Epidemiologist, and two Epidemiologists.
Sosiak's LinkedIn profile says she was Commissioner of Health since December 2016. Before that, she was with Cleveland Clinic from 2007 to 2016, as a project manager, infection control practitioner, and director of the Department of Public Health And Research.
(Photo courtesy City of Cleveland)
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