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Dr. Koh- Asst to Secretary of Health of HHS resigns!

Nielk

Senior Member
Messages
6,970
http://cfstreatment.blogspot.com/2014/07/shake-up-at-hhs-koh-resigns.html
Hot on the heels of Secretary of Health and Human Service Kathleen Sebelius' resignation comes the resignation of Howard Koh, Assistant Secretary for Health (see below).

and Erica Verrilo concludes..

What does this mean for the ME/CFS community? Very little, actually. It means HHS will be paying very little attention to this illness, while it tries to salvage Obamacare. It will be devoting very little of its resources, energy and time to our concerns. Very little money will be provided for scientific research. And people with very little interest in making necessary updates on the CDC's website, or including biomarkers in the CDC's multi-site study, or relying on the experience of experts to define the illness will continue to hold sway.
 

Nielk

Senior Member
Messages
6,970
Erica quotes a letter that was sent out announcing this but, I have not been able to confirm this. Does anyone have knowledge if this is true?
 

Nielk

Senior Member
Messages
6,970
This is the e-mail quoted:


From: Burwell, Sylvia M. (HHS/OS)
Sent: Wednesday, July 02, 2014 03:53 PM
To: OS - Political Staff; OS - OPHS - All Employees
Subject: Important Staff Announcement

Colleagues,

After more than five years of distinguished service, Dr. Howard Koh has informed me that he will step down as the Assistant Secretary for Health to assume a new position at the Harvard School of Public Health as Professor of the Practice of Public Health Leadership.

As Assistant Secretary for Health, Howard has been at the forefront of confronting the leading public health issues of our time. And as one of our top physicians at HHS and in federal government, he has been a trusted and respected voice in implementing and communicating the critical public health dimensions of the Affordable Care Act.

Howard’s broad range of accomplishments at HHS reflects his deep passion for promoting public health in so many arenas. He was the primary architect of landmark HHS strategic plans on tobacco control, health disparities, and chronic viral hepatitis that will leave a legacy for many years. He has led the HHS implementation of the President’s National HIV/AIDS Strategy, and the President’s Climate Action Plan as it relates to public health. Through his work, he has promoted efforts in areas such as behavioral health, cancer control, adult immunization, physical activity and obesity prevention, health literacy, multiple chronic conditions, organ donation and epilepsy. Additionally, he was actively engaged in matters related to the modernization of the Commissioned Corps, and oversaw the unveiling of Healthy People 2020.

Throughout his tenure, Howard has leveraged his decades of unique experience as a clinician, educator, researcher, advocate and former state public health commissioner to bring better understanding and empathy to underserved populations. Please join me in thanking him for his tireless commitment and wishing him all the best in his new position.

Best,

Sylvia Burwell