Leadership Change Announced at DE Division of Public Health
Beginning on Saturday, Dr Elizabeth Brown will take over as the Interim Director of the Delaware Division of Public Health. Dr. Brown is a board-certified family physician who has served as the Chief Medical Officer of Medicaid and Medical Assistance (DMMA) since 2018. She replaces Dr. Rick Hong who has served as Interim Director since July 1, 2022. Dr Hong moves into the role of Casual/Seasonal Physician Adviser for the Division of Public Health. The search for a permanent director of DPH continues.
Additional information from DDHS:
Since joining DMMA in 2018, Dr. Brown has emphasized evidence-informed decision making and grown DMMA’s resources for quality improvement. In addition to general clinical oversight, she has brought special focus to expanding substance use disorder treatment for the Medicaid population, improving outcomes for parents and infants in pregnancy and postpartum, and identifying and addressing social determinants of health.
Dr. Brown earned her bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from Northwestern University, her medical degree at the University of Chicago and completed her family medicine residency at Brown University. She was a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholar at the University of Pennsylvania, where she earned a master’s degree in health policy research, focusing on access to primary care for vulnerable populations. Prior to joining DMMA, she was the inaugural Harrington Clinician Scholar at the Christiana Care Health System Value Institute, and a faculty member in Family and Community Medicine. Her work included identifying race, ethnicity, and preferred language in EMR data, evaluating a team-based primary care model, and increasing access to long-acting reversible contraceptives.
Dr. Hong has served in various leadership roles at the Division of Public Health during the past 15 years. Prior to stepping into the role as Interim Division Director, he served as DPH Medical Director during much of the COVID-19 pandemic. He has also previously served as Medical Director for the Emergency Medical Services and Preparedness Section.
