DC Department of Health Undergoes Reorganization

DC Department of Health (DOH) Director Gregg Pane, MD has announced a major realignment of DOH in an effort to increase administrative efficiency and care coordination. According to a DOH press release, the realignment is expected to reduce the number of DOH administrations from 11 to seven, reallocate staff to a new procurement and grants management function, and create a new focus on performance accountability. The new DOH operational structure incorporates many of the recommendations that came out of DC Mayor Adrian Fenty’s Pre-Transition Health Team.

• Under the realignment:
  All facility and health provider regulation functions will be incorporated into the Health Regulation and Licensing Administration;
• Primary care, prevention, maternal and school health programs will be integrated into the Maternal and Primary Care Administration;
• The Emergency Health and Medical Services Administration will be combined with the Public Health Laboratory to form the Emergency Preparedness and Response Administration (EPRA);
• The Medicaid and Health Care Safety Net health plans will be integrated within the Medical Assistance Administration; and
• The Bureau of Epidemiology and Health Risk Assessments will be combined with the State Center for Health Statistics and State Health Planning and Development Agency to create a Center of Policy, Planning and Epidemiology.

Dr. Pane said the new structure and focus will better coordinate service delivery, improve quality accountability, and focus DOH on the public health goals that the Mayor outlined in his “100 Days and Beyond Plan.”

Click here to access the Mayor’s plan.