Brenda Fitzgerald, Georgia DPH chief, named director of CDC

ATLANTA — With President Trump’s appointment of Georgia Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald as director of the CDC, Gov. Nathan Deal has named Dr. J. Patrick O’Neal as interim DPH commissioner.

“I am immensely proud of my friend and colleague Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald, and I am grateful to her for her tireless work to promote the health and well-being of Georgia’s citizens,” Deal said Friday. “She has been an asset to the state of Georgia, and I know she will bring the same determination and persistence to her new role of CDC director, working for the good of the entire country.

“I want to thank President Trump for naming one of our own to this prominent role, and I am confident Dr. O’Neal will be able to successfully pick up where Brenda left off at DPH.”

O’Neal has been serving as director of Health Protection for DPH.

“I am humbled by the challenges that lie ahead, yet I am confident that the successes we’ve had in Georgia will provide me with a foundation for guiding the work of the CDC,” Fitzgerald said. “The progress we’ve made in Georgia around early brain development, childhood obesity and creating a model for addressing the Ebola epidemic would not have been possible without the full support of Governor Deal and a dedicated public health staff.”

Dr. Anne Schuchat has been serving as acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC is under the federal Department of Health and Human Services which is headed by another Georgian, Dr. Tom Price, who left his congressional seat as U.S. representative for the 6th District to take the secretary of HHS position.

U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee that oversees the CDC, applauded the selection.

“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is on the front lines of protecting Americans from outbreaks of dangerous diseases, like the Ebola and Zika viruses,” Isakson said. “Much of the CDC’s work involves partnerships with local public health authorities, and Dr. Fitzgerald’s experience overseeing a multitude of health programs throughout Georgia’s 159 diverse counties makes her an excellent choice to manage this critically important agency.

“Dr. Fitzgerald has led numerous medical organizations, practiced medicine for three decades and served as a fellow in anti-aging medicine. Her experience as a service member in the U.S. Air Force adds to the expertise and leadership that she would bring to this role at the CDC. I look forward to working with her to support and strengthen the CDC.”

Fitzgerald, who formerly served as director of the Division of Public Health and as state health officer, is a board-certified obstetrician-gynecologist who practiced medicine for more than three decades before coming to DPH in 2011. As commissioner, Fitzgerald oversaw various state public health programs, including Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, Health Protection, Georgia WIC, Office of Pharmacy, Nursing, Volunteer Health Care and Vital Records. She also directed the state’s 18 public health districts.

She has a bachelor’s degree in microbiology from Georgia State University and a medical degree from the Emory University School of Medicine. As a major in the Air Force, Fitzgerald served at the Wurtsmith Air Force Strategic Air Command Base in Michigan and at Andrews Air Force Base in Washington, D.C.

O’Neal, as the director of Health Protection for DPH, has overseen more than a dozen public health programs, including Epidemiology, Infectious Disease and Immunization, Emergency Preparedness and the Georgia Public Health Lab. He is also the medical director for the Office of EMS and Trauma.

He previously practiced emergency medicine for 29 years at DeKalb Medical Center and also served as the regional medical director for EMS throughout the metro Atlanta area. He has a bachelor’s degree from Davidson College and a medical degree from the Tulane University School of Medicine. Following medical school, O’Neal entered the Air Force for training in flight medicine and later served as a flight surgeon in Vietnam.