Houston Health Department

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The Houston Health Department provides traditional public health services and seeks to use innovative methods to meet the community’s present and future needs. Our mission is to work in partnership with the community to promote and protect the health and social well-being of all Houstonians. HHD is now the first health department in Texas and the second in a large U.S. city to earn national accreditation.

Houston Health Department

Serving as the Director for the Houston Health Department, Stephen L. Williams is actively involved in public health issues at the local, state and national level. He joined the City of Houston as the director of HHD in June of 2004. He received his Masters in Public Administration from Baruch College, City University New York, a Masters of Education from Auburn University in Montgomery, Alabama and his Bachelor of Arts in Sociology/Social Work from Huntingdon College also in Montgomery, Alabama. Williams serves on several boards of community, professional and civil rights organizations. He is a past president of the Texas Association of Local Health Officials.

Serving as the Health Authority for the Houston Health Department, David Persse's career in medicine started with ten years experience as a field paramedic and paramedic instructor in upstate New York and New Jersey. After receiving his pre-med training at Columbia University in New York, he then attended Georgetown University School of Medicine. Graduating with honors in emergency medicine from Georgetown, Dr. Persse then completed residency training in emergency medicine at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance, California. More at https://www.houstontx.gov/mayor/ems.html