Agency overview | |
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Formed | November 17, 1907 |
Preceding agency |
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Headquarters | Oklahoma Commons 123 Robert S. Kerr Avenue Oklahoma City, Oklahoma |
Employees | 1,552 (FY19) |
Annual budget | $393 million (FY19) |
Minister responsible |
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Agency executive |
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Website | ok.gov/health |
The Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH) is a department of the government of Oklahoma under the supervision of the Oklahoma Secretary of Health. The department is responsible for protecting the health of all Oklahomans and providing other essential human services. The OSDH serves as the primary public health protection agency in the state.
The department is led the State Commissioner of Health, who is appointed by the governor of Oklahoma with the approval of the Oklahoma Senate to serve at the pleasure of the Governor. The Commissioner is the executive officer of the department and is the lead public health authority in the state. To assist the Commissioner is the State Board of Health, composed of nine members appointed by the governor of Oklahoma with the approval of the Oklahoma Senate, which serves as advisory board to the Commissioner. [1]
In 1920, governor James B. A. Robertson appointed Sallie Lewis Stephens Sturgeon as a public health inspector for the Oklahoma State Health Department, making her the first woman in the United States to hold such a position. [2]
The department is led by the Secretary of Health and the Commissioner of Health. Oklahoma law requires the Commissioner of Health to have professional expertise as any of the following: 1) an actively licensed physician (MD/DO), 2) a doctoral-level degree holder in public health or public health administration, 3) a masters' degree holder with a minimum of five years experience in administering health services. [3]
As of January 2022 [update] , under Governor of Oklahoma Kevin Stitt, Kevin Corbett serves as Cabinet Secretary (and CEO of the Oklahoma Health Care Authority) and Keith Reid, RN serves as the Interim Commissioner of Health. Reid succeeded Colonel Lance Frye, MD who also served under Governor Kevin Stitt from May 2020 until his resignation on October 25, 2021. [4] OSDH's central office in Oklahoma City provides administrative oversight for the state's system of county health departments, which are overseen by regional administrators reporting to the State Commissioner. [5]
This section needs to be updated. The reason given is: this will almost always be out of date. Suggest replacing the list of names with just a link to the Board's Web site.(January 2025) |
The State Board of Health is the governing body of the Health Department. The Board is composed of nine members appointed by the Governor of Oklahoma with the approval of the Oklahoma Senate. Each Board member serves a nine-year term. Eight of the nine members represent specific county regions of the state and one member is appointed to represent the state at large.
Current members at any time are listed on the Board's Web site. [6] As of January 2022 [update] the Board was composed of the following members: [7] [8]
Name | Region | Board position |
---|---|---|
Jeffrey James Lim, M.D. | Cimarron, Texas, Beaver, Harper, Woodward, Woods, Major, Alfalfa, Grant, Garfield, Kay and Noble | President |
Bruce L. Storms, M.D. | Blaine, Kingfisher, Canadian, Caddo, Grady, Comanche, Jefferson, Stephens and Cotton | Vice President |
Randy Grellner, D.O. | At-large | Secretary |
Jenny Alexopulos, D.O. | Ottawa, Delaware, Craig, Mayes, Nowata, Rogers, Washington, Tulsa, Pawnee, and Osage | |
Kinon E. Whittington, D.O. | LeFlore, Latimer, Pittsburg, Atoka, Pushmataha, McCurtain, Choctaw, Bryan, Marshall, Carter, and Love | |
Charles W. Grim, D.D.S., M.H.S.A | Adair, Sequoyah, Cherokee, Wagoner, Muskogee, Haskell, McIntosh, and Okmulgee | |
R. Murali Krishna, M.D. | Logan, Oklahoma, Cleveland, McClain, Garvin, Murray and Payne | |
Ronald D. Osterhout, M.S. | Ellis, Dewey, Custer, Roger Mills, Beckham, Washita, Kiowa, Greer, Jackson, Harmon, and Tillman | |
Travis Wolff, PharmD | Creek, Lincoln, Okfuskee, Seminole, Pottawatomie, Pontotoc, Hughes, Johnston and Coal |
As of January 2023 [update] , the organization of the department is as follows:
The Health Department, with an annual budget of well over $300 million, is one of the largest employers of the State. For fiscal year 2014, the department was authorized 2,148 full-time employees.
Division | Number of Employees |
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Public Health Infrastructure | 163 |
Protective Health Services | 270 |
Prevention and Preparedness | 211 |
Health Improvement Services | 130 |
Community and Family Health | 1374 |
Total | 2,148 |
The divisions of the department operation with the following operating budgets for Fiscal Year 2019: [9]
Program | Funding (in millions) |
---|---|
Public Health Infrastructure | $28.8 |
Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority | $10.2 |
Prevention and Preparedness | $61.6 |
Protective Health Services | $62.6 |
Community and Family Health Services | $179.3 |
Health Improvement | $21.5 |
Data Processing and Public Policy | $32.9 |
Total | $392.5 |
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