SC DHEC names interim public health director after former chief steps down
South Carolina’s public health director has stepped down and will serve out the month in an advisory role. But, in a quick reversal, Dr. Joan Duwve has decided not to take a new job as the head of Ohio’s public health agency, citing concerns about attacks Ohio’s outgoing health director faced.
Dr. Brannon Traxler, chief medical officer at the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control, will take over as interim public health director immediately, DHEC announced Friday.
Traxler has regularly spoken at press conferences and weighed in on social media to talk about the agency’s COVID-19 response and to share her own personal story of how her grandmother died after contracting the virus.
The leadership change occurred in a whirlwind of news reports Thursday and Friday that began when Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine tweeted that Duwve would take the helm at his state’s health agency. Then later Thursday, DeWine tweeted that Duwve had withdrawn her name from consideration.
In a statement provided to The State, Duwve said that last 24 hours have been very difficult for her and for her family.
“In conversations preparing for the transition to the Ohio Department of Health, I was informed that the former director’s family had faced harassment from the public,” she said. “While I have dedicated my life to improving public health, my first commitment is to my family. I am a public figure. My family is off limits. I withdrew my name from consideration to protect my family from similar treatment.
“I very much appreciate Gov. DeWine’s confidence in me,” Duwve continued. “I am grateful to Gov. (Henry) McMaster, the incredible team at the Department of Health and Environmental Control, and the people of South Carolina, who have welcomed me so warmly.”
Duwve will stay with the agency in an advisory role until Oct. 1.
News of Duwve’s departure from DHEC broke Thursday about an hour before McMaster and DHEC’s acting director Marshall Taylor spoke to reporters about the state’s COVID-19 vaccine plans.
Her departure came as a surprise after Duwve had only been on the job since April, when the state was dealing with a surge of coronavirus cases. She took a job that had been without a permanent director for more than a year. Duwve quickly became a public face to the state’s COVID-19 response, appearing at legislative hearings and beside the governor at press conferences.
Her leave from DHEC also followed the abrupt resignation of former DHEC director Rick Toomey, who stepped down in June amid the outbreak, citing health issues and wanting to spend more time with family.
DHEC confirmed late Friday that Duwve is not the only public health official to leave their post this month.
Spokeswoman Cristi Moore told The State that Atwell Coleman, DHEC’s public health laboratory director since Jan. 17, retired Sept. 4, and Mike Elieff, who started at DHEC in 2015 to head the agency’s Public Health Preparedness and Response, will retire on Oct. 16.
Their positions have already been filled.
Coleman is succeeded by Dr. Kan Horng-Yuan, who was named interim director. Horng-Yuan started working on Sept. 18, and Elieff will be succeeded by Jamie Blair, who became the interim director on Sept. 10 and was the agency’s operations director starting July 2015.
When asked about the departures, DHEC acknowledged the COVID-19 pandemic has taken a toll on its employees.
“This lengthy pandemic response has been unrelenting for the essential workers in healthcare, first response, senior care, public health, and countless others, as well as for their families,” Moore said. “As the state’s lead public health agency, we have a duty to protect our state and its residents. We also have a duty to support our employees as best we can — by providing rest and rotations so our workforce doesn’t become overburdened. This is typical of any type of emergency response.”
Since early March, DHEC said it hired 654 employees but also reported that 455 employees have since retired or moved on from the agency for various reasons. Currently, the agency employs approximately 3,800 dedicated health and environmental experts.
Taylor told reporters Thursday that Duwve’s promotion to run Ohio’s health department would allow her to be closer to her family in Ohio.
“We’re very happy for her. We will miss her,” Taylor said Thursday, adding Duwve would stay on in her current role at DHEC for several weeks while the agency searched for her replacement.
But hours later Thursday, Ohio’s governor tweeted that Duwve withdrew her name without saying why.
“Understandably, Joan has made a career decision that she feels is in the best interest of her family and we respect this decision,” Taylor said in a statement Friday. “Joan is a brilliant physician who is passionate about public health and we greatly appreciate the time she spent with DHEC as our director of public health. We wish her the best of luck in her future endeavors.”
Taylor said he has confidence in Traxler’s ability to lead the agency’s public health efforts.
A Greenville native, Traxler holds degrees from Clemson and George Washington universities and the University of South Carolina. Before working at DHEC, Traxler was a general surgeon and at the agency has handled infectious disease surveillance and control and emergency preparedness and response.
“Brannon’s breadth of experience and knowledge in medical practice as a surgeon as well as the chief medical officer for the state’s COVID-19 response, uniquely positions her for this critical role and I look forward to our continued work together,” Taylor said.
DHEC also explained Friday that Traxler agreed to serve as interim so Dr. Linda Bell — the department’s top epidemiologist and another public face of DHEC’s COVID-19 response — can “remain laser focused on the current pandemic and other disease outbreaks in order to keep our residents healthy and safe.”
McMaster’s spokesman Brian Symmes praised Duwve and expressed confidence in Traxler.
“Dr. Duwve has been an absolute pleasure to work with and has been a tremendous asset to the state’s response to the pandemic,” Symmes said. “Gov. McMaster is deeply appreciative of her work and her commitment to ensuring a seamless transition as she moves on. The governor also has complete confidence in Dr. Traxler and knows that we won’t miss a beat with her taking on a new role.”
Reporter Sammy Fretwell contributed to this report.
This story was originally published September 11, 2020 at 11:36 AM.
