Geauga Public Health Hires New Commissioner
Geauga Public Health named Dr. Jeffery Cameron as its new health commissioner during the Jan. 26 health board meeting.
Geauga Public Health named Dr. Jeffery Cameron as its new health commissioner during the Jan. 26 health board meeting.
Adam Litke, GPH interim administrator, attended a recent Geauga County Commissioners meeting and told the board Cameron’s position is part time.
“It’s about two hours a week, give or take, but he’ll probably end up with more than that — he seems to really enjoy it,” Litke said, adding the Ohio Revised Code permits them to employ either a full-time health commissioner or choose to hire a part-time health commissioner and a full-time administrator. GPH opted for a part-time commissioner and a full-time administrator, which Litke said is a cost savings of approximately $80,000 to $90,000 per year for the county.
“It’s pretty much a cost saving measure — to save the health department and county a ton of money,” Litke said. “I just do most of the work and then he’ll receive the stuff that you need a master’s degree or M.D. to take care of.”
Cameron — an obstetrician-gynecologist who has a full-time independent practice in Chardon — has spent the past two weeks learning more about the expectations for the health commissioner role, along with meeting members of the various department leads and understanding what they do, he said in a follow up interview.
When asked what he hopes to bring to the community as commissioner, he had one word: “Continuity.”
Cameron officially started Feb. 1, taking the place of interim Health Commissioner Jennifer Williams-Reid. The position had been open since Aug. 25, 2021, when the health board voted to terminate then Health Commissioner Tom Quade, who had been at the helm since 2019.
Prior to 2016, Cameron worked out of UH-Geauga Medical Center as a private practice. He has also served the community since 2002 at the Middlefield Amish Birthing Center, he said.
Cameron completed a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry at the College of Wooster; received a master’s degree in chemistry through Bowling Green State University; and graduated from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in 1984. He completed his residency at Mt. Sinai Hospital in Cleveland, he added.
Cameron has lived in Bainbridge Township for over 30 years, with his wife, Kathy. They have four children and 10 grandchildren.
The board is currently taking steps to fill the administrator position. They had nine applicants and have narrowed it down to two candidates.
“What we hope to do is have a final decision and contract in place before the board meeting in February,” said board member David Gragg.
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