Thompson Names Interim ‘Management Team’ to Head CDC Until Permanent Director Appointed
HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson last Friday announced that effective April 1, an interim "management team" will head the CDC until the Bush administration names a permanent director. Dr. David Fleming, deputy director for science and public health at the CDC, will serve as acting director of the agency. Dr. James Hughes, director of the National Center for Infectious Diseases at the CDC, and Dr. Julie Gerberding, acting deputy director of NCID, will lead the agency's bioterrorism efforts. In addition, Dr. Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, will serve as Thompson's representative at the CDC. "This team of skilled professionals will serve the CDC, the department and the nation well until a permanent director is selected," Thompson said (HHS release, 3/29). The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that the "multipart appointment" at the CDC "came as a sharp surprise" to agency employees, who did not expect the Bush administration to name both Fleming and Gerberding to new positions (McKenna, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 3/30). The interim management team will replace Dr. Jeffrey Koplan, who announced in February that he would resign as CDC director on March 31. Koplan has accepted a position as vice president for academic health affairs at Emory University in Atlanta (HHS release, 3/29).
This is part of the California Healthline Daily Edition, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.