Dr. Jason Bredenkamp is the new Health Officer for the Vanderburgh County Health Department, starting May 22.
His first week as health officer, will include seven overnight shifts in a row in the ER, as head of emergency medicine at Ascension St. Vincent in Evansville.
“But the nice thing about emergency medicine is — it's shift work,” he said. “There's no (on- call), so it frees up some additional time throughout the week and the month.”
Taking this role is possible for him because the Vanderburgh County Health Department has recently split the position of Health Officer into two separate part-time jobs.
The job held by Dr. Robert Spear for 12 years included a management aspect — that’s been split off into its own new position — the Medical Director.
Health Department Administrator Joe Gries said two positions means two public advocates for the health department.
“… and make sure that they're aware that we are a resource for people, we are able to help when there are problems that arise, but also just to improve public health, so that that's probably the biggest reason.”
Bredenkamp will be responsible for hiring the new Medical Director.
“My priorities are going to be not only getting out there and being public facing, spreading the word about what a great resource we have here. I'll have lots of interactions with local, county, and state government, including the General Assembly up in Indianapolis.”
He said if need be, he can give up some responsibilities at Ascension. “This is number one priority for me right now,” he said.
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