Auerbach tapped to head state Dept. of Public Health

Banner Staff

After nine years as the executive director of the Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC), John Auerbach has been appointed commissioner of the state’s Department of Public Health (DPH) under Gov. Deval Patrick. Auerbach’s selection was announced Monday by Dr. JudyAnn Bigby, the state’s secretary of health and human services.

According to the Associated Press, Auerbach’s new job calls for him to oversee preparations for a potential pandemic flu disaster in addition to analyzing public health data to determine how to respond to existing and developing problems. A statement from Bigby’s office announcing Auerbach’s appointment trumpeted his “significant experience in emergency preparedness,” highlighting his prior oversight of the Boston Emergency Medical Services, the local division of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Boston Public Health Emergency Preparedness program.

The new commissioner said he plans to analyze the latest health data and hold a series of public health meetings in all regions of the state in the coming months.

Auerbach is a veteran of more than two decades of work in Massachusetts public health in state and local government as well as health center and hospital settings. Before becoming the BPHC’s executive director, he served as the first director of DPH’s HIV/AIDS Bureau and as DPH chief of staff.

As head of the BPHC, Auerbach received praise for a variety of far-reaching initiatives, including a focus on eliminating racial and ethnic disparities, implementing tough tobacco control measures, and initiating citywide asthma, cardiovascular and cancer programs.

“Mr. Auerbach is committed to ensuring the health of all of the Commonwealth’s residents and communities. With his leadership, I am sure that the Department of Public Health will once again be one of the premier departments in the nation,” said Bigby in a statement.

After the announcement, Mayor Thomas M. Menino issued a statement congratulating Auerbach on the new position and saying his former health lieutenant “will be missed.”

“John served Boston’s residents with honor and distinction and played a major role in Boston’s overwhelming task to end health care disparities in our city,” Menino said. “He will be difficult to replace, and Governor Patrick is lucky to have John on his team.”

Menino said the city would begin searching for Auerbach’s replacement “as soon as we can.”

Auerbach’s appointment comes one week after Gov. Deval Patrick filed his first state budget, which calls for a $72 million increase in public health spending to expand tobacco control programs, vaccination initiatives and programs for early intervention for children with developmental delays.

Auerbach is president of the board of the Massachusetts Public Health Association and sits on the board of directors of the National Association of County and City Health Officials. He received an M.B.A. from the Boston University School of Management and a B.A. from Clark University. He is also a graduate of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the University of California’s Public Health Leadership Institute.

A Jamaica Plain resident, Auerbach replaces Paul Cote, who served as the state public health commissioner in the administration of former Gov. Mitt Romney.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.