Dr. Diane Z. Weems has been named district health director of the Coastal Health District. She replaces Dr. W. Douglas Skelton, who retired in the summer of 2012.
Weems has been interim district health director since Skelton's retirement and has twice before held the interim position.
She began her public health career in 1986 at the Lowndes County Health Department in Valdosta, relocating to Savannah in 1988 to become the clinical physician for the Chatham County Health Department. In 1993 she was named Chief Medical Officer for the Chatham County Health Department and for the past eight years has served in that same capacity for the entire District which includes Bryan, Camden, Chatham, Effingham, Glynn, Liberty, Long, and McIntosh counties.
“The unanimous vote to approve Dr. Weems as the permanent district health director is a win for Public Health, a win for everyone in the Coastal Health District, and a win for all of Georgia,” said Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Public Health. “Dr. Weems knows first-hand the challenges in southeast Georgia and is prepared with the right credentials to absolutely meet those challenges.”
In addition to her position at the Coastal Health District, Weems has chaired the Chatham County Safety Net Planning Council since its formation in 2004. She currently serves as the physician representative to the Georgia Department of Public Health’s State Nurse Protocol Committee and actively participates on several community boards including Step Up Savannah, the community’s poverty reduction initiative, and the Chatham-Savannah Youth Futures Authority Collaborative. She is a member of several professional associations including the Georgia Public Health Association, the Georgia Medical Society, the American Public Health Association, and the American Academy of Pediatrics.
As district health director, Weems will be responsible for planning, organizing, directing, and managing public health services within the Coastal Health District.
“It’s an honor and a privilege to be chosen to lead public health initiatives in southeast Georgia,” she said. “I look forward to continuing to work with our staff, community leaders, and public health advocates to help improve the lives of those living along our coast and throughout our state.”