From left are Dr. Michael Faulk, county chief medical officer; Lacey Keefer Wilson, newly appointed county public health director; and County Executive PJ Wendel.

Lacey Keefer Wilson was recently announced as the county’s new public health director.

The announcement, made by County Executive PJ Wendel and Michael Faulk, county chief medical officer, was first reported by The Post-Journal and OBSERVER last week.

Wilson will begin her new role on Jan. 1, 2024. Faulk has served as interim public health director since November 2022.

Wilson has a master’s degree in public health from the University of Albany and is a registered dietitian nutritionist. She has experience in community health, social behavior, aging services and public health program planning, development and implementation. She has served as the county’s deputy public health director since July 2023.

Prior to coming to the Health Department, Wilson spent the last three years working in the Chautauqua County Office for Aging Services where she served as the coordinator for their nutrition and wellness division. Earlier in her career, Wilson served as a nutrition director for the Seneca Nation of Indians’ Older American’s Act nutrition program where she redeveloped their programing infrastructure.

Additionally, she has served in roles with the state Bureau of Chronic Disease Prevention, Commission on Rural Resources, and also worked as a health and wellness consultant providing sports nutrition and training services to athletes and sports teams.

“Wilson has a skill set that we believe brings great value to our community,” Wendel said. “Her strong leadership ability, experience and a commitment to addressing public health inequities is a welcome addition to the Health Department.”

Faulk will continue to serve as chief medical officer and physician for Chautauqua County providing administrative oversight for the Health Department, but with a shift in focus toward jail correctional health, coroner program and county emergency medical services.

“Lacey has proven herself to be a natural leader and within a short time has gained the respect of not only our Health Department team, but also those leading different County departments and Community groups,” Faulk said. “She brings valuable experience to the Public Health Department while we focus on our mission to prevent disease, promote wellness and protect our community’s health.”

In her new role, Wilson will advocate at the state and federal level for continued investment in the county’s public health infrastructure and work with community partners on long-term efforts to address health policy and systems issues to improve the health of our community.

Wilson will be responsible for the oversight of the department’s mandated and non-mandated programing that include the public health clinic, public health nursing, environmental health, early intervention and pre-school for children with disabilities and education for children with medical needs, and a variety of grant-funded programs focused around improving the health of our communities.

“I truly consider it an honor to be afforded the opportunity to serve our county in this role, and am genuinely excited to help make the community that my family and I love a healthier place to live, work and play,” Wilson said. “I am grateful to be a part of a larger team made up of the very talented Health Department staff, dedicated leaders in our partner county agencies and other community organizations committed to improving the health of our residents.

“There is a lot of work ahead of us, but I am confident that with the partnerships in place, the expertise, care and dedication of Dr. Faulk and the pledged support from the County Executive that there is a very bright future for our public’s health.”