HJAR Nov/Dec 2020

DIALOGUE 8 NOV / DEC 2020 I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF ARKANSAS   Dr. José R. Romero was named the Secretary of the Arkansas Department of Health in August 2020. He is a member of the Governor’s cabinet and provides senior scientific and executive leadership for the agency. Romero is the chairman of the Centers for Disease Control’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), which is providing guidance nationally on the prioritization and distribution of a COVID- 19 vaccine. The ADH delivers over 100 services through the main office in Little Rock and over 90 local health units in each of the state’s 75 counties. These services include immunizations, WIC, outbreak response, vital records, chronic disease prevention, preparedness and emergency response, injury and violence prevention and suicide prevention. The ADH also includes the Arkansas Public Health Laboratory, which tests for safe food and drinking water, detects inherited genetic disorders in newborns, and provides early identification of infectious diseases. Local, state and federal partnerships help the ADH to advance its mission. Romero previously served as Chief Medical Officer at the ADH and was appointed as the interim Secretary of Health by Governor Asa Hutchinson in May 2020. He was Director of the Section of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) and the Arkansas Children’s Hospital from 2008-2020. He is also a Professor of Pediatrics in the Department of Pediatrics at UAMS and has board-certification in Pediatrics and Pediatric Infectious Diseases. Romero’s research interests include the molecular pathogenesis, epidemiology and diagnosis of enteroviral infections as well as clinical and therapeutic aspects of enterovirus, herpes virus, cytomegalovirus, pediatric tuberculosis and pneumococcal infections. JOSÉ R. ROMERO, MD Secretary of Health, Arkansas Department of Health