Outgoing leader navigated health department through turbulent times
After a turbulent four-year tenure as director of the Shelby County Health Department, Dr. Michelle Taylor said she is leaving the department in better shape than when she took over.
Taylor, a White Station High graduate who takes the helm of the Baltimore City Health Department on Aug. 4, took over SCHD in August 2021, six months after Alisa Haushalter had resigned following heavy criticism of the department’s COVID-19 vaccination distribution efforts.
Haushalter’s resignation came amid a state investigation into shoddy practices and judgment and Gov. Bill Lee’s announcement that the City of Memphis would take over vaccine distribution.
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Dr. Michelle Taylor Shelby County Health Department Mark Billingsley Miska Clay Bibbs Subscriber OnlyWill you help us reach more Memphians with quality, in-depth local news?
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Aisling Mäki
Aisling Mäki covers health care, banking and finance, technology and professions. After launching her career in news two decades ago, she worked in public relations for almost a decade before returning to journalism in 2022.
As a health care reporter, she’s collaborated with The Carter Center, earned awards from the Associated Press and Society of Professional Journalists and won a 2024 Tennessee Press Association first-place prize for her series on discrepancies in Shelby County life expectancy by ZIP code.
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