Ohio governor’s pick for health dept director withdraws name

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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Gov. Mike DeWine’s pick for Ohio’s next Health Department director has withdrawn
her name just hours after DeWine announced she’d be the successor.
DeWine’s office said in a tweet Thursday night that Dr. Joan Duwve withdrew her name from consideration
for the position for personal reasons. The state will continue its search for a full-time replacement to
Dr. Amy Acton, who resigned abruptly in June amidst a torrent of conservative criticism including armed
protesters outside her suburban Columbus house.
DeWine announced earlier Thursday that Duwve would be the state’s new health director, saying she has
extensive public health experience and shares his commitment to children’s issues and many other public
health issues.
Duwve is an Ohio native who most recently served as public health director for South Carolina’s
Department of Health and Environmental Control.
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THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below:
Ohio’s new health director is a native of the Cleveland area who has served in top state health positions
in Indiana and South Carolina, Gov. Mike DeWine announced Thursday.
Dr. Joan Duwve has extensive public health experience and shares DeWine’s commitment to children’s issues
and many other public health issues, including substance use treatment and prevention, suicide
prevention and ending smoking, DeWine said.
"I am confident in her ability to develop relationships with our local health department partners,
and I know she is looking forward to working together with them to help build a stronger public health
system across Ohio," the governor said.
Duwve replaces the previous director, Dr. Amy Acton, who resigned abruptly in June amidst a torrent of
conservative criticism over her coronavirus public health orders. At one point, armed protesters rallied
outside her suburban Columbus house.
Duwve, from North Olmsted in suburban Cleveland, graduated from Ohio State, received a public health
master’s from the University of Michigan and her medical degree from Johns Hopkins University.
Most recently she served as public health director for South Carolina’s Department of Health and
Environmental Control. She worked previously as chief medical officer with the Indiana Department of
Health and medical director for the department’s Division of Public Health and Preparedness.
Her salary hasn’t been set, said Health Department spokesman Melanie Amato.
Acton was praised early on for her work to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, and with her guidance,
the Republican DeWine took some of the most aggressive action nationally early in the pandemic.
But DeWine, who instituted a statewide mask order in July, has received plenty of his own criticism from
conservatives who believe his actions have gone too far — such as a ban on liquor sales after 10 p.m.
Fellow Republicans in the House and Senate have pushed multiple measures to limit the ability of the
state health director to issue public health orders.
The Ohio Health Department reported more than 134,000 probable and confirmed cases of the coronavirus as
of Thursday, including 4,354 deaths. The state’s one-day tally of 1,121 is above the 21-day average of
1,052, with many new cases blamed on the return of students to college campuses and in some cases
gathering in impermissibly large groups with no social distancing or mask wearing.

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