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Assistant Secretary for Health
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<h2 id="history">History</h2> <p>The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health and Scientific Affairs was established on January 1, 1967, following <a href="/facts/U.S._Public_Health_Service_reorganizations_of_1966%25E2%2580%25931973/HqI9CtRy">Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1966</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> The new position supplanted the <a href="/facts/Surgeon_General_of_the_United_States/kgrG0URc">surgeon general</a> as the head of the PHS, with all PHS component heads now reporting to the assistant secretary.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a> This was seen as undermining the chain of command of the <a href="/facts/United_States_Public_Health_Service_Commissioned_Corps/QfvmogN2">PHS Commissioned Corps</a>, beginning a long-term shift where Commissioned Corps officers were more responsible to the agencies they were stationed in than to the corps itself.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a> </p><p>The office was renamed the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health following the <a href="/facts/Department_of_Education_Organization_Act/q6rJr38U">Department of Education Organization Act</a> in 1972.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a> </p><p>In 1995, supervision of the agencies within PHS was shifted to report directly to the <a href="/facts/United_States_Secretary_of_Health_and_Human_Services/JEP414sF">secretary of health and human services</a>. This transformed the assistant secretary for health from a supervisory position in the direct chain of command, into an advisory one.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12"><sup>12</sup></a> </p><p>In 2010, the office's name was changed from Office of Public Health and Science to Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13"><sup>13</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="office-of-the-assistant-secretary-for-health">Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health</h2> <p class="note">Main article: <a href="/facts/Office_of_the_Assistant_Secretary_for_Health/soggoqWf">Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health</a></p><p> As of 2018, the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health oversees 12 core public health offices, 10 regional health offices, and 10 presidential and secretarial advisory committees.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14"><sup>14</sup></a></p> <h2 id="list">List</h2> <table><tbody><tr><th rowspan="2">No.</th><th colspan="2">Assistant secretary</th><th colspan="3">Term</th><th rowspan="2">Pay schedule orService branch</th></tr><tr><th>Portrait</th><th>Name</th><th>Took office</th><th>Left office</th><th>Term length</th></tr><tr><td>1</td><td></td><td><a href="/facts/Philip_R._Lee/f682gg50">Philip R. Lee</a></td><td>November 2, 1965</td><td>1969</td><td>3 years</td><td><a href="/facts/Executive_Schedule/2lr3d5gb">ExecutiveSchedule IV</a></td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td></td><td><a href="/facts/Roger_O._Egeberg/Lz2IzHNB">Roger O. Egeberg</a></td><td>July 14, 1969</td><td>1971</td><td>2 years</td><td><a href="/facts/Executive_Schedule/2lr3d5gb">ExecutiveSchedule IV</a></td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td></td><td>Merlin K. DuVal</td><td>July 1, 1971</td><td>January 20, 1973</td><td>1 year, 203 days</td><td><a href="/facts/Executive_Schedule/2lr3d5gb">ExecutiveSchedule IV</a></td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td></td><td><a href="/facts/Charles_C._Edwards/zu6gTIde">Charles C. Edwards</a></td><td>April 18, 1973</td><td>January 5, 1975</td><td>1 year, 262 days</td><td><a href="/facts/Executive_Schedule/2lr3d5gb">ExecutiveSchedule IV</a></td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td></td><td>Theodore Cooper</td><td>July 1, 1975</td><td>1977</td><td>2 years</td><td><a href="/facts/Executive_Schedule/2lr3d5gb">ExecutiveSchedule IV</a></td></tr><tr><td>6</td><td></td><td><a href="/facts/Vice_admiral_(United_States)/nsagebYR">Vice Admiral</a><a href="/facts/Julius_B._Richmond/B3sm683b">Julius B. Richmond</a></td><td>July 13, 1977</td><td>May 14, 1981</td><td>3 years, 305 days</td><td><a href="/facts/United_States_Public_Health_Service_Commissioned_Corps/QfvmogN2">U.S. PublicHealth Service</a></td></tr><tr><td>7</td><td></td><td><a href="/facts/Edward_Brandt_Jr./Aytl6SXR">Edward Brandt Jr.</a></td><td>1981</td><td>1984</td><td>3 years</td><td><a href="/facts/Executive_Schedule/2lr3d5gb">ExecutiveSchedule IV</a></td></tr><tr><td>8</td><td></td><td><a href="/facts/Robert_E._Windom/56qKbWBd">Robert E. Windom</a></td><td>1986</td><td>1989</td><td>3 years</td><td><a href="/facts/Executive_Schedule/2lr3d5gb">ExecutiveSchedule IV</a></td></tr><tr><td>9</td><td></td><td><a href="/facts/Admiral_(United_States)/4EnHN4bR">Admiral</a><a href="/facts/James_O._Mason/EBLxzQxJ">James O. Mason</a></td><td>1989</td><td>1993</td><td>4 years</td><td><a href="/facts/United_States_Public_Health_Service_Commissioned_Corps/QfvmogN2">U.S. PublicHealth Service</a></td></tr><tr><td>10</td><td></td><td><a href="/facts/Philip_R._Lee/f682gg50">Philip R. Lee</a></td><td>July 2, 1993</td><td>1998</td><td>5 years</td><td><a href="/facts/Executive_Schedule/2lr3d5gb">ExecutiveSchedule IV</a></td></tr><tr><td>11</td><td></td><td>Admiral<a href="/facts/David_Satcher/2TDCyGKJ">David Satcher</a></td><td>February 13, 1998</td><td>January 20, 2001</td><td>2 years, 342 days</td><td><a href="/facts/United_States_Public_Health_Service_Commissioned_Corps/QfvmogN2">U.S. PublicHealth Service</a></td></tr><tr><td>-</td><td></td><td><a href="/facts/Rear_admiral_(United_States)/wGa6RoC0">Rear Admiral</a>Arthur J. Lawrence<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:15" href="#fn:15"><sup>15</sup></a><i>Acting</i></td><td>January 20, 2001</td><td>February 8, 2002</td><td>1 year, 19 days</td><td><a href="/facts/United_States_Public_Health_Service_Commissioned_Corps/QfvmogN2">U.S. PublicHealth Service</a></td></tr><tr><td>12</td><td></td><td><a href="/facts/Eve_Slater/DVfPhRfk">Eve Slater</a></td><td>February 8, 2002</td><td>February 5, 2003</td><td>362 days</td><td><a href="/facts/Executive_Schedule/2lr3d5gb">ExecutiveSchedule IV</a></td></tr><tr><td>-</td><td></td><td>Rear Admiral<a href="/facts/Cristina_Beato/ShqlFmT2">Cristina V. Beato</a><i>Acting</i></td><td>February 5, 2003</td><td>January 4, 2006</td><td>2 years, 333 days</td><td><a href="/facts/United_States_Public_Health_Service_Commissioned_Corps/QfvmogN2">U.S. PublicHealth Service</a></td></tr><tr><td>13</td><td></td><td>Admiral<a href="/facts/John_O._Agwunobi/Mz6hH3rf">John O. Agwunobi</a></td><td>January 4, 2006</td><td>September 4, 2007</td><td>1 year, 243 days</td><td><a href="/facts/United_States_Public_Health_Service_Commissioned_Corps/QfvmogN2">U.S. PublicHealth Service</a></td></tr><tr><td>-</td><td></td><td><a href="/facts/Don_J._Wright/j61agXbA">Don J. Wright</a><i>Acting</i></td><td>September 4, 2007</td><td>March 28, 2008</td><td>206 days</td><td><a href="/facts/Executive_Schedule/2lr3d5gb">ExecutiveSchedule IV</a></td></tr><tr><td>14</td><td></td><td>Admiral<a href="/facts/Joxel_Garc%25C3%25ADa/9nXex7rK">Joxel García</a></td><td>March 28, 2008</td><td>January 20, 2009</td><td>298 days</td><td><a href="/facts/United_States_Public_Health_Service_Commissioned_Corps/QfvmogN2">U.S. PublicHealth Service</a></td></tr><tr><td>-</td><td></td><td>Rear AdmiralSteven K. Galson<i>Acting</i></td><td>January 22, 2009</td><td>June 22, 2009</td><td>151 days</td><td><a href="/facts/United_States_Public_Health_Service_Commissioned_Corps/QfvmogN2">U.S. PublicHealth Service</a></td></tr><tr><td>15</td><td></td><td><a href="/facts/Howard_K._Koh/5HkwDSx5">Howard K. Koh</a></td><td>June 22, 2009</td><td>August 1, 2014</td><td>5 years, 40 days</td><td><a href="/facts/Executive_Schedule/2lr3d5gb">ExecutiveSchedule IV</a></td></tr><tr><td>-</td><td></td><td><a href="/facts/Karen_DeSalvo/WLAUy4Je">Karen B. DeSalvo</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:16" href="#fn:16"><sup>16</sup></a><i>Acting</i></td><td>October 2014</td><td>January 3, 2017</td><td>More than 2 years</td><td><a href="/facts/Executive_Schedule/2lr3d5gb">ExecutiveSchedule IV</a></td></tr><tr><td>-</td><td></td><td><a href="/facts/Don_J._Wright/j61agXbA">Don J. Wright</a><i>Acting</i></td><td>January 4, 2017</td><td>February 15, 2018</td><td>1 year, 42 days</td><td><a href="/facts/Executive_Schedule/2lr3d5gb">ExecutiveSchedule IV</a></td></tr><tr><td>16</td><td></td><td>Admiral<a href="/facts/Brett_Giroir/9ycFSs8j">Brett P. Giroir</a></td><td>February 15, 2018</td><td>January 19, 2021</td><td>2 years, 339 days</td><td><a href="/facts/United_States_Public_Health_Service_Commissioned_Corps/QfvmogN2">U.S. PublicHealth Service</a></td></tr><tr><td>-</td><td></td><td>Rear AdmiralFelicia L. Collins<i>Acting</i></td><td>January 21, 2021</td><td>March 26, 2021</td><td>64 days</td><td><a href="/facts/United_States_Public_Health_Service_Commissioned_Corps/QfvmogN2">U.S. PublicHealth Service</a></td></tr><tr><td>17</td><td></td><td>Admiral<a href="/facts/Rachel_Levine/80Wgb4La">Rachel L. Levine</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:17" href="#fn:17"><sup>17</sup></a></td><td>March 26, 2021</td><td>January 20, 2025</td><td>3 years, 300 days</td><td><a href="/facts/United_States_Public_Health_Service_Commissioned_Corps/QfvmogN2">U.S. PublicHealth Service</a></td></tr><tr><td>-</td><td></td><td>Leith J. States<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:18" href="#fn:18"><sup>18</sup></a><i>Acting</i></td><td>January 20, 2025</td><td>May 26, 2025</td><td>126 days</td><td><a href="/facts/Executive_Schedule/2lr3d5gb">ExecutiveSchedule IV</a></td></tr><tr><td>-</td><td></td><td><a href="/facts/Dorothy_Fink/IVjqX4xe">Dorothy Fink</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:19" href="#fn:19"><sup>19</sup></a><i>Acting</i></td><td>May 26, 2025</td><td>Incumbent</td><td>5 days</td><td><a href="/facts/Executive_Schedule/2lr3d5gb">ExecutiveSchedule IV</a></td></tr></tbody></table> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> <ul><li><a href="https://www.hhs.gov/ophs/leadership/ash.html">Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (ASH)</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.hhs.gov/ash/about-ash/leadership/index.html">Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health - Leadership</a></li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>"PHSCC Uniforms". Archived from the original on May 13, 2008. Retrieved January 19, 2008. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080513175033/http://www.usphs.gov/AboutUs/uniforms.aspx" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20080513175033/http://www.usphs.gov/AboutUs/uniforms.aspx</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>"42 USC 207. Grades, ranks, and titles of commissioned corps". Retrieved January 19, 2008. <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/207" target="_blank">https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/207</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>"42 USC 207. Grades, ranks, and titles of commissioned corps". Retrieved January 19, 2008. <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/207" target="_blank">https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/207</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>"Regular Corps Assimilation Program" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on May 8, 2010. Retrieved January 19, 2008. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20100508142058/http://dcp.psc.gov/eccis/documents/CCPM23_3_7.pdf" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20100508142058/http://dcp.psc.gov/eccis/documents/CCPM23_3_7.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>"Records of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health [OASH]". National Archives. August 15, 2016. Retrieved August 29, 2020. <a href="https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/514.html" target="_blank">https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/514.html</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>"Records of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health [OASH]". National Archives. August 15, 2016. Retrieved August 29, 2020. <a href="https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/514.html" target="_blank">https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/514.html</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>History, mission, and organization of the Public Health Service. U.S. Public Health Service. 1976. pp. 3–4, 20, 22. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=M-n4arYE5ScC" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=M-n4arYE5ScC</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>"A Common Thread of Service: A History of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare". U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. July 1, 1972. Secretary Cohen. Retrieved September 1, 2020 – via HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation. <a href="https://aspe.hhs.gov/report/common-thread-service/history-department-health-education-and-welfare" target="_blank">https://aspe.hhs.gov/report/common-thread-service/history-department-health-education-and-welfare</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>Landman, Keren (August 29, 2019). "For America's Public Health Officers, Questions of Duty and Purpose". Undark Magazine. Retrieved July 11, 2020. <a href="https://undark.org/2019/06/24/public-health-service-commissioned-corps/" target="_blank">https://undark.org/2019/06/24/public-health-service-commissioned-corps/</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>Landman, Keren (August 29, 2019). "For America's Public Health Officers, Questions of Duty and Purpose". Undark Magazine. Retrieved July 11, 2020. <a href="https://undark.org/2019/06/24/public-health-service-commissioned-corps/" target="_blank">https://undark.org/2019/06/24/public-health-service-commissioned-corps/</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>"Records of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health [OASH]". National Archives. August 15, 2016. Retrieved August 29, 2020. <a href="https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/514.html" target="_blank">https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/514.html</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:12"><p>Landman, Keren (August 29, 2019). "For America's Public Health Officers, Questions of Duty and Purpose". Undark Magazine. Retrieved July 11, 2020. <a href="https://undark.org/2019/06/24/public-health-service-commissioned-corps/" target="_blank">https://undark.org/2019/06/24/public-health-service-commissioned-corps/</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:13"><p>"Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (ASH)". September 22, 2010. Archived from the original on September 22, 2010. Retrieved October 17, 2018. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20100922085609/http://www.hhs.gov/ophs" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20100922085609/http://www.hhs.gov/ophs</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:14"><p>"Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH)". HHS.gov. March 30, 2016. Retrieved October 17, 2018. <a href="https://www.hhs.gov/ash/index.html" target="_blank">https://www.hhs.gov/ash/index.html</a> <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:15"><p>"Rear Admiral Arthur J. Lawrence". Council on Strategic Risks. April 24, 2020. Retrieved April 27, 2021. <a href="https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/rear-admiral-arthur-j-lawrence/" target="_blank">https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/rear-admiral-arthur-j-lawrence/</a> <a href="#fnref:15" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:16"><p>Received a recess appointment extension on January 1, 2016, under 5 U.S.C. § 3346(b)(2), to continue serving as the Acting Assistant Secretary for Health until the end of fiscal year 2016. <a href="/wiki/Title_5_of_the_United_States_Code" target="_blank">/wiki/Title_5_of_the_United_States_Code</a> <a href="#fnref:16" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:17"><p>Received her commission and four-star rank on October 19, 2021. <a href="#fnref:17" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:18"><p>"Leith J. States, M.D., M.P.H." U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. January 20, 2025. Retrieved January 25, 2025. <a href="https://www.hhs.gov/about/leadership/leith-states.html" target="_blank">https://www.hhs.gov/about/leadership/leith-states.html</a> <a href="#fnref:18" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:19"><p>"Dr. Dorothy Fink". U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Retrieved May 31, 2025. <a href="https://health.gov/about-oash/oash-leadership" target="_blank">https://health.gov/about-oash/oash-leadership</a> <a href="#fnref:19" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>