Decatur, GA — Dr. Sandra Valenciano has been appointed as the new district health director for the DeKalb County Board of Health, effective July 1.

She stepped into the role of interim district health director in April. Before taking on the position, she served as the Board of Health’s medical director for the division of community health and prevention services, beginning in July 2020. Since that time, she has led the COVID-19 response overseeing all Board of Health testing and vaccination efforts, in addition to standardizing several COVID-19 operating procedures, according to a press release.

Valenciano is passionate about public health, health disparities, and advocating for underserved populations. She is also an adjunct assistant professor in the family and preventive medicine department at the Emory University School of Medicine. She oversees Emory Preventive Medicine residents during their rotations at the Board of Health.

Valenciano is a board-certified physician in internal medicine. She completed her medical training in the Yale Primary Care Internal Medicine Residency Program and completed the Emory Preventive Medicine Residency Program. She is board eligible in preventive medicine.

She has served as an epidemic intelligence service officer in the respiratory diseases branch within the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She led domestic outbreak responses, evaluated national infectious disease surveillance systems, analyzed global immunization data and collaborated with domestic and international partners, the press release states.

As an Emory Preventive Medicine resident, she provided clinical care at Emory Healthcare and the Atlanta Veterans Administration, completed additional public health work at CDC and the Georgia Department of Public Health, ultimately being assigned to the Board of Health in April 2020 to assist with the COVID-19 response.

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