West Virginia State Health Officer Steps Down

The West Virginia Department of Health announces the stepping down of Dr. Matthew Christiansen from his role as state health officer. Dr. Christiansen's last day with the department was Friday, December 13, 2024.

"I am incredibly thankful to Governor Justice and Secretary Young for the opportunity to serve as West Virginia's state health officer. It has been the honor of a lifetime," Dr. Christiansen expressed. "I am incredibly proud of the work we have done in rebuilding public health after the pandemic, and I plan to bring the lessons I've learned here to my work going forward. Public health staff are unsung heroes who keep us healthy, and they deserve our respect and thanks every single day."

"I would like to thank Dr. Christiansen for his time serving as state health officer," shared Cabinet Secretary Sherri A. Young, D.O., MBA, FAAFP. "We wish him nothing but the best as he explores new opportunities."

As state health officer, Dr. Christiansen made it a focus of his tenure to rebuild relationships by visiting all 48 local health departments and launching monthly engagement calls for diverse stakeholders to better coordinate the work being done across the state. He spearheaded numerous impactful initiatives, including establishing outcome measures for every office and division within the Bureau for Public Health (BPH), launching the state's first anti-vaping campaign targeting youth, restructuring the Fatality-Mortality Review Team process, coordinating support for Local Health Departments, and overseeing development of evaluation standards for local health services among other significant projects.