Maryland Department of Health

Maryland Department of Health
Agency overview
Formed1969 (1969) (as the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene)
June 30, 2017 (2017-06-30) (as the Maryland Department of Health)
JurisdictionState of Maryland
Headquarters
Agency executives
  • Meena Seshamani, Secretary of Health
  • Aliya C. Jones, M.D., Deputy Secretary, Behavioral Health
  • Bernard A. Simons, Deputy Secretary, Developmental Disabilities
  • Vacant, Deputy Secretary, Health Care Financing & Chief Operating Officer
  • Atif T. Chaudhry, Deputy Secretary, Operations
  • Jinlene Chan, M.D., (acting), Deputy Secretary, Public Health Services
  • Bryan I. Mroz, Assistant Secretary & Chief Medical Officer
  • Webster Ye, Assistant Secretary for Health Policy
  • Kathleen A. Ellis, Principal Counsel
Websitehealth.maryland.gov

The Maryland Department of Health is an agency of the government of Maryland responsible for public health issues. The department is headed by a secretary who is a member of the Executive Council/Cabinet of the Governor of Maryland. Currently the secretary is Meena Seshamani.[1] Previous secretaries have included Laura Herrera Scott, Dennis R. Schrader, Robert R. Neall, Joshua Sharfstein, and Georges C. Benjamin.[2]

History

The department was formed in 1969 as the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and was known by this name until June 30, 2017.[3] Although the department itself was formed in 1969, some of its origins go back to the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.[3] In January 2022, the department disclosed a ransomware cyberattack discovered in the previous month causing disruption in healthcare systems already stressed by the COVID-19 surge.[4]

References

  1. ↑ "Maryland Department of Health". Maryland Manual On-Line. Maryland State Archives. February 6, 2023. Retrieved February 8, 2023.
  2. ↑ "Maryland Departments - Former Secretaries". Maryland Manual On-Line. Maryland State Archives. February 8, 2023. Retrieved February 7, 2023.
  3. 1 2 "Health, Maryland Department of - Origin". Maryland Manual On-Line. Maryland State Archives. March 11, 2022. Retrieved February 8, 2023.
  4. ↑ Gaskill, Hannah; DePuyt, Bruce (January 12, 2022). "Attack on Health Dept. Computers Was "Ransomware," Hogan and Cyber Czar Acknowledge". Maryland Matters.