Acton steps down as Health Director

Turning down pleas from Gov. Mike DeWine to stay on the job, Dr. Amy Acton surprisingly resigned Thursday as director of the Ohio Department of Health amid the COVID-19 pandemic (Source: “Dr. Amy Acton resigns as state health director; Democrats cite criticism from GOP lawmakers,” Columbus Dispatch, June 11).

Gov. Mike DeWine said Acton’s resignation is effective Thursday, although she now will become his chief health adviser. Lance Himes, Senior Deputy/Chief of Staff for the Ohio Department of Health, will become interim health director, DeWine said.

“It is difficult for me to put in words how grateful I am for Dr. Acton’s service to the state,” he said.

The governor said he has asked Acton, who was appointed health director Feb. 26, 2019, to “take a big-picture look” at improving public health while still working to address the pandemic.

Meanwhile, despite fears of outbreaks as Ohio reopened for business over the past several weeks amid the coronavirus pandemic, cases of the potentially deadly infection have fallen by one-third from early May.

Ohio averaged 605 new cases a day from May 1-10, a figure that fell 33%, to 407 new daily infections, over the first 10 days of June, according to a Columbus Dispatch analysis of state Health Department figures.