Dr. Sarah Moyer, Louisville's chief health strategist, to leave this summer for Humana job

Dr. Sarah Moyer, Louisville's chief health strategist, will leave her current position for a new job at Humana this summer, the city announced Tuesday.

Moyer, who was named medical director of the Louisville Health Department in 2015 and became chief health strategist for the city in 2017, will become Chief Medical Officer for Humana Healthy Horizons, according to the announcement.

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Dr. Jeff Howard has been appointed as the interim director and chief health strategist by Mayor Greg Fischer, who said his "commitment to equitable health outcomes, paired with his experience at the state and federal levels makes him the right person to lead our Health Department at this critical time.”

Howard will step into this new role on May 27. Moyer will stay on for the rest of the fiscal year as an adviser and start her new job on July 5, according to the city.

“Dr. Moyer was instrumental in leading our Louisville Metro Public Wellness team’s award-winning approaches to improving the health of all our residents, and she has shown those skills as our community navigated a once-in-a-century global pandemic,” Fischer said in a statement. “I’m pleased to see her continue to be a leader in our community through her new role at Humana.”

Howard, who lives in Louisville with his wife and two children, said in a statement that the pandemic "has highlighted the necessity of a strong public health system, and the Louisville Metro Public Health and Wellness team has time and again demonstrated the ability to meet that need."

Moyer called the move "bittersweet" in a statement.

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"LMPHW is like family to me — family devoted to serving a community we love," she said. "We've worked together to get to the root of unhealthy and unfair conditions and improve them so that everyone, in every ZIP code, can enjoy good health and wellbeing."

She added: “All four of my children celebrated their first birthdays during my time here, and as I’ve watched them grow, I’ve also seen the LMPHW team grow, both in numbers, and in boldness to tackle tough issues. I’m grateful that Humana is affording me the opportunity to remain in Louisville to improve the health of our community from a different angle.”

The health department has seen other shifts this year. In March, the department suffered a shock when its associate medical director, Dr. SarahBeth Hartlage, died suddenly while at a conference in Florida. Hartlage oversaw much of the city's COVID-19 vaccine distribution. No official cause of her death has been released.

Reach health reporter Sarah Ladd at sladd@courier-journal.com. Follow her on Twitter at @ladd_sarah.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Dr. Sarah Moyer to leave Louisville health department role for Humana