State Public Health Expert Available to Discuss the Public Health Consequences of Hurricane Katrina

Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) spokesperson Donald E Williamson, MD, is available to answer questions and talk with REPORTERS about the public health issues surrounding Hurricane Katrina and what states are doing to assist each other during this humanitarian emergency. As the Alabama State Health Officer, Dr. Williamson has been directly involved in disaster relief for Hurricane Katrina and has extensive experience dealing with the aftermath of hurricanes along the Gulf Coast.



Dr. Donald E. Williamson was appointed state health officer of the Alabama Department of Public Health in 1992. Prior to joining the Alabama Department of Public Health, Dr. Williamson served as state tuberculosis control officer at the Mississippi State Department of Health. Dr. Williamson has been the recipient of a number of awards including the ASTHO McCormick Award, the Theodore R. Ervin Award from the Public Health Foundation and the AAP Child Health Advocate Award from the American Academy of Pediatrics. On a national level, Dr. Williamson served as President of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials from 1997 to 1998 and has served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Public Health Foundation and the Steering Committee on Access for the Uninsured of the National Academy for State Health Policy.



Contact: Paula A. Steib, 202-371-9090, ext 1638; (cell) 703-819-1421; psteibastho



The Association of State and Territorial Health Officials is the national nonprofit organization representing the state and territorial public health agencies of the United States, the U.S. Territories, and the District of Columbia. ASTHO's members, the chief health officials of these jurisdictions, are dedicated to formulating and influencing sound public health policy, and to assuring excellence in state-based public health practice.




Paula A. Steib, Communications Director

Association of State and Territorial Health Officials

1275 K ST NW, Suite 800

Washington, DC 20005

202-371-9090 ext. 1638

astho