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Marcus Cheatham\nOn May 29 the Mid Michigan District Health Department (MMDHD) welcomed a new health officer, Marcus Cheatham. Cheatham was previously with the Ingham County Health Department for 17 years where he served as chronic disease epidemiologist and then Assistant Deputy Health Officer.
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\nCheatham became interested in public health while doing study abroad and volunteer work in Kenya as an undergraduate. In Kenya, he took on a research project for UNICEF, studying the effectiveness of public education campaigns promoting breast feeding. Through the project he discovered that it was actually very difficult to create messages that mothers found believable, an experience that he says got him “hooked on public health research.”
\nAfter returning to the United States, Cheatham went to Michigan State University (MSU) to continue his research on Africa, ultimately earning a PhD in Political Science. While at MSU he was hired as Director of Survey Research by MSU’s Institute for Public Policy and Social Research. There he began helping state and county health departments launch community health surveys, including the one MMDHD currently uses in Montcalm, Gratiot and Clinton counties.
\nBased on his survey work at MSU, Cheatham was able to move to the Ingham County Health Department. “I was very happy at Ingham,” says Cheatham. However, when he learned that Kimberly Singh was stepping down as health officer for MMDHD, he knew right away that he would apply for the job.
\n“I know Kim Singh well,” said Cheatham. “She was an outstanding health officer and MMDHD has a great reputation. Because of this, I worked very hard to make sure I was one of the final candidates. I studied the health department and the communities it serves and worked really hard to be prepared for my interviews.”
\nOriginally a resident of East Lansing, Cheatham now lives on Half Moon Lake in Stanton. “Being from the Lansing area, some folks from Stanton told me I would be a fish out water up here,” he said.
\nHowever, the recent controversy on synthetic marijuana and designer drugs, such as bath salts, gave him a way to quickly make a positive impact on the community. The MMDHD Board of Health asked him to declare these drugs an imminent health threat, which meant law enforcement officers could remove them from store shelves. “My big first action in the community was noticed right away and was received very well,” he said.
\nIn his new role as health officer, Cheatham is looking forward to working with people in the community, and with health care providers to find creative ways to meet community needs.
\n“This is a very vibrant community with great community-based organizations. It really is a great health department and I love the people I work with,” he said. “The Board of Health is outstanding. We are saddened by the loss of a great Commissioner in Carl Paepke, but the other members are dedicated and the county Boards of Commissioners have been very supportive, which helps make us successful,” he said.
\nThe health department, like other businesses and organizations, is facing hard economic times and budget cuts. Cheatham says that his main responsibility is seeking innovative ways of maintaining services for residents. “Are we doing something that impacts a business or health care provider’s bottom line? If so, maybe we can turn that into a revenue stream we can share. And thinking this way can relieve some pressure on county general funds, too,” he said.
\n“Setting the economics aside for a moment, MMDHD is pretty close to my ideal vision for what a health department should be,” he added. “We are successful at what public health is supposed to be doing. The staff is extremely skilled.”
\nHaving been with the MMDHD now for over two months, Cheatham says he feels well prepared to be a health officer. What’s one of the best things about his job?
\n“The most rewarding thing is having a positive impact on health. We see people who benefit from our work every day, which is very gratifying.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"