Obama announces the appointment of Margaret Hamburg. Read about her here. Joshua Sharfstein, Baltimore's health commissioner, will assist her.
A food safety working group, made up of cabinet secretaries and senior officials, will revamp the food laws.
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Sharfstein's bio from the Baltimore City Health Department:
Sharfstein's bio from the Baltimore City Health Department:Dr. Joshua M. Sharfstein is Commissioner of Health for the City of Baltimore. He was appointed by Mayor Martin O'Malley in 2005 and then re-appointed by Mayor Sheila Dixon in 2008.
As Health Commissioner, Dr. Sharfstein leads an agency of approximately 800 employees with a budget of approximately $150 million in fiscal year 2008. The Health Department is responsible for numerous areas of health policy and programs including control of infectious diseases, school health, emergency preparedness, maternal-child health, restaurant inspections, animal control, and chronic disease prevention. Dr. Sharfstein also serves as chair of the board of four affiliated nonprofit agencies: Baltimore Substance Abuse Systems, Inc., Baltimore Healthcare Access, Inc., Baltimore City Healthy Start, Inc., and Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter, Inc.
Dr. Sharfstein has led efforts to improve oversight of children’s cough-and-cold medications, eliminate lead hazard from children’s jewelry, increase immunization of healthcare workers, and expand access to substance abuse treatment with buprenorphine. During Dr. Sharfstein's tenure, the Health Department and its affiliated agencies have won three model practice awards from the National Association of County and City Health Officials, two Innovations in Public Service awards from the Maryland Chapter of the American Society for Public Administration, and the Community Hero Award from the Center for Injury Research & Policy at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Dr. Sharfstein is a 2008 Governing Magazine Public Official of the Year.
Dr. Sharfstein is a member of the Board on Population Health and Public Health Practice of the Institute of Medicine. He is also the contributing editor for Local Acts of Public Health Reports. Prior to his current position, Dr. Sharfstein served as health policy advisor on the Democratic staff of the Government Reform Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives for Congressman Henry A. Waxman, where he was responsible for oversight and legislative projects on scientific integrity, HIV/AIDS, FDA oversight, tobacco control, public health preparedness and other health topics.
Dr. Sharfstein is a 1991 graduate of Harvard College, a 1996 graduate of Harvard Medical School, and a 1999 graduate of the combined residency program in pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital and Boston Medical Center. He completed a fellowship in general academic pediatrics at Boston University in 2001. Dr. Sharfstein lives with his family in Baltimore
