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Christiansen promoted to West Virginia State Health Officer

Dr. Matt Christiansen

CHARLESTON — Dr. Matt Christiansen, the director of West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources’ Office of Drug Control Policy, was promoted Wednesday to the DHHR bureau that oversees the state’s substance abuse crisis and COVID-19 response.

Gov. Jim Justice and DHHR Interim Secretary Jeffrey Coben announced Wednesday that Christiansen will be the new State Health Officer and commissioner of DHHR’s Bureau of Public Health, succeeding Dr. Ayne Amjad in that role.

“We are very, very confident,” Justice said during a virtual briefing with reporters Wednesday morning from the State Capitol Building. “He’s done a fantastic job … I congratulate Dr. Christiansen and Dr. Coben’s recommendation. I’m sure Matt will do a wonderful job.”

Justice appointed Christiansen as the state’s drug czar in 2020 and is the fifth person to lead the Office of Drug Control Policy (ODCP) since Justice first took office in 2017. The Legislature created ODCP in 2017. The agency is charged with developing a state drug control policy and strategic planning and advising the governor and the Legislature.

“I am greatly honored to serve West Virginia in this capacity,” Christiansen said in a statement provided by DHHR. “I look forward to implementing a continued vision for improved health for all residents of this great state.”

Christiansen is also an associate professor for the Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine’s Department of Family and Community Health, where he focuses on family care and addiction medicine.

“I also want to thank Dr. Christiansen for his assuming the responsibilities of his new position as the State Health Officer and commissioner of the Bureau of Public Health,” said Coben, who joined Justice on Wednesday’s virtual briefing. “I think that is a great asset to bring a primary care physician who is a West Virginian who is trained in public health to help with the leadership of that bureau. We’re very excited about that.”

ODCP Assistant Director Rachel Thaxton and Christina Mullins, the newly appointed DHHR Deputy Secretary of Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders, will manage ODCP until a permanent director can be found.

The Bureau of Public Health is an agency overseen by the State Health Officer, a position that reports directly to the DHHR cabinet secretary. The bureau oversees several agencies including ODCP, the Office of Epidemiology and Prevention Services and the state lab in South Charleston, both on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The bureau also manages the state’s medical cannabis program, local health departments, emergency preparedness and public health response, and health statistics and vital records.

Justice announced in September that Amjad would step down as state health officer and bureau commissioner as soon as a permanent replacement is appointed. She will return to her private medical practice in Southern West Virginia while serving the state in a contract advisory role on public health matters and report directly to the Governor’s Office.

“I really, really want to especially thank Dr. Amjad,” Justice said. “She’s still not going anywhere. She’s still agreed to stay around and everything. She wants to be with her practice, and that’s good stuff. She’s still there to be able to assist and help us and will do so all the time.”

Amjad replaced Dr. Cathy Slemp, who resigned in the summer of 2020 four months into the COVID-19 pandemic that began in March 2020. Slemp resigned after Justice expressed displeasure with her office’s handling of COVID-19 data and discrepancies in the number of active cases.

Steven Allen Adams can be reached at sadams@newsandsentinel.com

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