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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 2, 2009

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CONTACT: Seth Boffeli, 608-266-1683

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH SERVICES APPOINTS DR. SETH FOLDY AS PUBLIC HEALTH ADMINISTRATOR

Former Milwaukee Health Commissioner Will Serve as State Health Officer

MADISON—Department of Health Services Secretary Karen Timberlake announced today that Dr. Seth Foldy has been selected as the new Administrator of the Division of Public Health. Dr. Foldy previously served as Health Commissioner for the City of Milwaukee from 1998 to 2004. As Administrator of the Division of Public Health, he will also serve as the State Health Officer.

“Dr. Foldy brings a record of leadership and a wealth of experience on public health issues to the Department of Health Services. He will be an asset to the Department and our many public health partners around the state,” said Secretary Karen Timberlake.

During his terms as Milwaukee Health Commissioner, Dr. Foldy and colleagues reduced rates of childhood lead poisoning, heat related deaths, smoking and communicable diseases while improving health insurance enrollment and childhood immunization rates. He also fostered collaborations with suburban health departments, academic institutions and community-based organizations.

Dr. Foldy is board-certified in Family Medicine and Preventive Medicine. He holds faculty appointments at the Medical College of Wisconsin, the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, and Argonne National Laboratory. Dr. Foldy is a graduate of Stanford University (BA with distinction, Human Biology 1977), Case Western Reserve University (MD, 1982) and the Medical College of Wisconsin (Masters in Public Health, 2005), as well as the CDC/University of California Public Health Leadership Institute.

In recent years, Dr. Foldy has co-founded the Wisconsin Health Information Exchange (WHIE) which provides real-time patient information to emergency department physicians and public health authorities in Milwaukee County. He has also served as medical director of Health Care for the Homeless of Milwaukee since 2005.

Dr. Foldy comes to the Department of Health Services at a time when the state is working on expanding insurance coverage, reducing health care costs and increasing the overall health of the entire state. He will work out of offices in Milwaukee and Madison.

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Last Revised:  July 12, 2010