Gov.-elect Shapiro nominates head of Allegheny County Health Department as PA secretary of health

Gov. elect Josh Shapiro has nominated Dr. Debra Bogen, the Allegheny County Health Department director, as the next Pennsylvania secretary of health.

The announcement was made Wednesday morning.

“The health and wellbeing of Pennsylvanians is critical to our success as a Commonwealth, and I am truly grateful for the opportunity to work with Governor-Elect Shapiro to serve the healthcare needs of people across Pennsylvania,” Dr. Debra Bogen said in a release. “In Allegheny County, we’ve brought people together to expand access to clinical care, advocate for family and child health, and protect the most vulnerable. I am excited to advance the Shapiro Administration’s agenda and to make evidence-informed decisions to improve the health and wellbeing of all of our residents.”

He also nominated Dr. Val Arkoosh to be Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, Dr. Latika Davis-Jones to be Secretary of Drug and Alcohol Programs, Jason Kavulich to be Secretary of Aging and Mike Humphreys to be Insurance Commissioner.

RELATED COVERAGE: Arkoosh to lead Shapiro’s sprawling human services agency

Bogen has been the Director of the Allegheny County Health Department since early 2020, just as COVID-19 was starting to spread in Western Pennsylvania.

“We are so proud of Dr. Bogen and thrilled to see this next step in her extraordinary career. We have been fortunate to have her serve the residents of Allegheny County for the last nearly three years and look forward to all that she will do on behalf of the entire Commonwealth’s residents,” Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald said as part of a statement. “When we announced her hiring in early 2020, none of us could have expected that COVID would be upon us so quickly. In March of that year, Dr. Bogen answered the call and began her term as the new Health Department director several months before she was scheduled to do so. Since that time, she has led the department and this county through our response to COVID-19 and all of its iterations. As the lead agency providing response, the Health Department provided advice, briefings and directives to help guide not just the county, but also its residents and local businesses throughout the pandemic.”

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