May 7, 2002 (CIDRAP News) Donald A. Henderson, MD, is leaving his position as director of the federal Office of Public Health Preparedness (OPHP), to be succeeded by Jerome M. Hauer, a former emergency management director for New York City.
Henderson, 73, had agreed to serve for six months when he was named to the new office last November, according to a statement from Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Tommy G. Thompson. He said Henderson will continue to serve as his principal science advisor for public health preparedness and chairman of the HHS Council on Public Health Preparedness.
Thompson created the OPHP last October to develop and coordinate HHS's bioterrorism preparedness efforts. He said the change of leaders marks the end of the development phase of the office and the transition to a "more permanent leadership course."
Hauer has been serving as an advisor to Thompson for national security and emergency management, according to the HHS announcement. As OPHP director, he will oversee and coordinate the department's planning, response, and recovery efforts for all emergencies, including acts of terrorism.
"Jerry is a proven and aggressive leader who gets the job done, and one of the world's preeminent experts in emergency preparedness and bioterrorism," Thompson said. "He will make sure we are coordinated and prepared for emergencies within HHS, but more importantly, with the state and local public health professionals."
Hauer is widely recognized for his work in developing the nation's first bioterrorism response plans while he served as the first director of the Mayor's Office of Emergency Management for New York City, HHS officials said. He also led efforts to establish one of the nation's first public health surveillance systems.
Hauer is a graduate of the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health in Baltimore and was a student of Henderson's when Henderson was dean there. Hauer called Henderson his "longtime friend and mentor," according to the HHS release.
Henderson led the World Health Organization's successful campaign to eradicate smallpox in the 1970s. He is the founder of the Johns Hopkins Center for Civilian Biodefense Strategies and was its director before he took the OPHP position.
See also:
HHS announcement
http://archive.hhs.gov/news/press/2002pres/20020503a.html
