Elijah Packer, a senior at College of Charleston, gets a COVID-19 test at a S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control pop-up testing site on campus on Monday, Nov. 9, 2020. After a months-long search, Dr. Edward Simmer was chosen to lead DHEC and its 3,500 employees. File/Lauren Petracca/Staff
By Lauren Petracca lpetracca@postandcourier.com
Dr. Edward Simmer. File/Provided
A career military medical officer was chosen Tuesday to lead South Carolina s public health agency, filling a months-long vacancy amid the biggest health crisis in a century.Â
The agency s board members voted unanimously to put Dr. Edward Simmer in charge of the state Department of Health and Environmental Control and its 3,500 employees, saying his experience and leadership qualities checked off all their boxes.
DHEC selects new executive director
DHEC selects new executive director By Caroline Coleburn | December 22, 2020 at 11:26 AM EST - Updated December 22 at 6:31 PM
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - After six months without a permanent leader, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control has chosen who theyâd like to run the agency.
During a meeting Tuesday morning, board members unanimously voted for Dr. Edward Simmer, a Navy veteran, to be the next executive director.
Simmer was the deputy chief and the chief clinical officer of the militaryâs TRICARE Health Plan, where he was responsible for overseeing civilian medical and dental care for 9.4 million beneficiaries of the Military Health System.