Baltimore will soon have a new health commissioner.
Mayor Brandon Scott announced on Friday that Dr. Michelle Taylor, a graduate of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, has been appointed Commissioner of the Baltimore City Health Department (BCHD) and will start on Aug. 4.
“Dr. Taylor is a world-class leader, and I’m grateful that she’s bringing her talents and experience to Baltimore,” Scott said in a statement. “She shares my commitment to expanding affordable health resources in every single neighborhood of our city. And in the coming months and years, she’ll oversee our historic efforts to tackle the opioid crisis, expand physical and mental health resources, and ensure all Baltimoreans have access to the quality care they deserve.”
A native of Memphis, Tennessee, Taylor most recently served as the Shelby County Division Director for Health Services. In that role, Taylor led the operations of the Shelby County Health Department, which is responsible for the delivery of public health services, enforcement of applicable health codes and ordinances of Shelby County and applicable regulations of the Tennessee Department of Health.
In addition to her public health leadership at the county level, Taylor serves as a Colonel and a residency-trained flight surgeon in the Tennessee Air National Guard. She also served on active duty for Operational Support and Statutory tours as the Credentialing and Privileging Branch Chief and the Division Chief for Aerospace Medicine in the Office of the Air National Guard Surgeon General, from 2019 to 2021.
Taylor received her Doctorate in Public Health from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health as a C. Sylvia and Eddie C. Brown Community Health Scholar.
She received her undergraduate degree from Howard University, her medical degree from East Tennessee State University, James H. Quillen College of Medicine, and completed her pediatric residency at East Tennessee State University/Johnson City Medical Center and the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. She holds a master’s degree in Epidemiology from the University of Tennessee, and a master’s degree in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, where she was a Commonwealth Fund Mongan Fellow.
The Baltimore City Health Department is the local public health authority responsible for protecting health, reducing disparities and improving community well-being through education, coordination, advocacy, and direct services in Baltimore. It also enforces city ordinances related to public health.
The department’s responsibilities include managing acute communicable diseases, animal control, chronic disease prevention, emergency preparedness, HIV/STD care, maternal and child health, restaurant inspections, school health, senior services, and addressing youth violence. In partnership with other agencies and healthcare organizations, it works to empower residents with the knowledge, resources, and environment needed to live healthy lives.
Taylor’s work will include addressing the spread of controllable diseases; informing residents of chronic disease prevention and treatment; managing the city’s animal control operation, and providing services to youth and seniors. She will also play a key role in responding to the city’s opioid overdose epidemic, implementing the health department’s strategy to prevent overdose deaths.
“I called Baltimore City home for the first two years of my graduate studies at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and today, I am delighted to announce my return home to serve the Baltimore City community,” Taylor said in a statement. “I am excited to work with the BCHD team to expand public health services for all Baltimoreans through innovative programs, policies, and partnerships, all while aligning with Mayor Scott’s goals for a healthier Baltimore.”
