Dr. Amy Acton steps down as Ohio Department of Health director; She’ll be adviser to DeWine

COLUMBUS — In 2019, most Ohioans did not know who Dr. Amy Acton was. In 2020, she became a household name, inspiring videos of girls who want to be like her, articles in publications worldwide, and lawsuits involving postponed elections and shuttered businesses.

Gov. Mike DeWine announced Thursday, June 11, that Dr. Acton is stepping down as the director of the Ohio Department of Health. He said she will still be an adviser to the governor.

Lance Himes, who is the department’s general counsel, will become interim director.

In March, Dr. Acton began to appear alongside Gov. DeWine in what became daily news briefings. The closures began with the Arnold Sports Festival, and came to include the cancellation of the NCAA tournament, and the delay of Ohio’s primary election. After the governor’s initial plan to delay the election, a judge ruled late the night before the election that the governor did not have the authority to change the election date. It was then that Dr. Acton issued an emergency health order closing voting locations.

The ongoing orders that also closed businesses and a variety of public gatherings also generated criticism, including protesters who targeted Dr. Acton’s home, and also inspiring counter-protests. Dr. Acton thanked the Ohio State Highway Patrol, for both protecting all Ohioans and for the executive protection team, which helps protect state leaders, including the governor.

Dr. Acton also said she was so focused on the pandemic, she didn’t have time to notice the protests. “You’d be surprised how much a lot of that isn’t your focus,” she said. “For me, my focus, the need to protect Ohioans and save lives was so intense, especially during the first phase, that had to be a single point of meditation on the task at hand and it remains that.”

Dr. Acton thanked several people during the news conference Thursday, including the health departments in Ohio’s counties.

“The local health departments, to the leadership of 113 local health departments and their employees. These, honestly Ohio, are people who often live quietly doing things for you that we don’t see because they are doing such a good job, and they have been working tirelessly in this, and I just want to say I am so grateful to serve alongside of you,” she said.

Dr. Acton became director of the state’s health department in early 2019. “When I was elected governor, I knew that I wanted to pick someone to head the health department who had a real passion for public health, someone who had a public health background, and someone who had an ability to talk to the people of the state of Ohio in a candid way about health issues,” DeWine said. “With her leadership and help in the first year, we focused on some very important things: lead paint poisoning; infant mortality; youth homelessness; suicide prevention; and just, really, the modernization of our public health system.”

Dr. Acton said stepping down as director will allow her to focus more on these ongoing public health issues, while the department stays focused on the pandemic.

DeWine said it was quick action from the doctor that has made the difference in fighting the pandemic.

“When the coronavirus hit China and we started seeing this on television, Dr. Acton started talking about it with me. Her wise advice and counsel, and her relationship with other doctors, with other experts around the country and around the world have truly been invaluable, and they have helped us get through this, at least get through the first part of this,” the governor said. “While the decisions were always mine, her counsel has been superb. I will always believe and know that many, many, lives have been saved because of the advice I received from her and the great work she did.”

Dr. Acton thanked the people of Ohio for taking action. “Ohioans, you have saved lives. You have done this. And it is my honor to continue to work on this alongside of you, and to witness what you have done already, what you are doing right now to get back into our lives and do so as safely as you can, and I look forward to witnessing what you are going to do next.”

Before becoming the director at ODH, Dr. Acton had worked with The Columbus Foundation, The Ohio State University, Nationwide Children’s Hospital and other organizations. She earned her medical degree from Northeastern University.

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