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Dr. Yolanda Slaughter Named to Philadelphia's Board of Health

October 23, 2008

Dr. Yolanda A. Slaughter, Assistant Professor of Community Oral Health in Penn Dental Medicine's Department of Preventive and Restorative Sciences, is among Mayor Michael A. Nutter's seven appointees to Philadelphia's Board of Health. Dr. Slaughter is recognized as a national expert in the geriatric oral health, particularly among minority populations and has been a leader in the analysis of workforce issues for the American Dental Association.

"I am very pleased that we have been able to recruit individuals of such excellence to serve on the Board, and thank each of them for their generous commitment of time and talent to the City and its residents," said Mayor Nutter, who announced the appointees on October 14.

The Board of Health is a departmental board of the Department of Public Health. The board is composed of the Health Commissioner, who serves as President, and seven mayoral appointees. Of these seven members, three must be physicians - one of them having a degree of Doctor of Master of Public Health - and one must be a dentist having a degree of Doctor of Master of Public Health. The board is responsible for promulgating the health regulations of the Department of Public Health. These regulations establish public health standards for administration and practice that effectively control public health hazards and preserve and promote the health of the people of Philadelphia. Board members review scientific, technical, and administrative advances in the field of public health to ensure that the City's health regulations reflect best possible practices.

"This administration has appointed an activist Board of Health of highest qualification to review the health department's regulations which affect so many facets of the quality of daily life," said Philadelphia Health Commissioner Donald Schwarz. "This Board brings a broad range of expertise to the examination of regulations for areas as disparate as environmental health, food protection, disease control, animal control, and the delivery of maternal health services. It is also a Board that is representative of the diverse communities it serves, and one that can exercise leadership and guidance in helping to establish future direction and current priorities for the health department."

The other appointees include José Benitez (Executive Director of Prevention Point Philadelphia, a social services agency serving those at high-risk for HIV/AIDS and other illnesses), Dr. Marla Gold (Dean of the School of Public Health at Drexel University), Dr. Shannon Márquez (Associate Professor of Public Health and Director of the Master of Public Health Program at Temple University), Dr. A. Scott McNeal (Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of Delaware Valley Community Health, Inc.), Dr. Susan Schewel (Executive Director of the Women's Medical Fund of Philadelphia), and Dr. Robert G. Sharrar (a nationally-known expert in infectious disease epidemiology). Dr. Donald Schwarz, Deputy Mayor for Health and Opportunity, will serve as President of the Board through his role as Health Commissioner.

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