UNMC pathologist Thomas Williams named Nebraska’s top public health official

Pathologist Dr. Thomas Williams

A local Omaha pathologist has been chosen to serve as Nebraska’s next top public health official.

Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts announced the appointment of Dr. Thomas L. Williams as the state’s next chief medical officer and director of the state’s Division of Public Health. The appointment comes more than a year after the resignation of Dr. Joseph Acierno.

A blue ribbon panel comprising of the Governor’s Office and Courtney Phillips, director of the Department of Health and Human Services, interviewed nearly two dozen candidates for the job.

“Williams stood out ... because of his wide-ranging experience and heart for public service,” Gov. Ricketts said.

Williams currently directs laboratory medicine and is the chairman of the pathology department at Methodist Hospital in Omaha. He also teaches pathology as a professor at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) College of Medicine.

Williams has a degree in chemistry from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a medical degree from the University of Nebraska College of Medicine.

He will be paid $165,000 in his new position, which starts on Nov. 1. His predecessor was paid about $153,000 annually.

Dr. Acierno had held the position of the state’s top doctor for about two years when he unexpectedly resigned in May 2015. He stepped down as the state’s CMO after the Nebraska Legislature initially voted against his confirmation, but reversed course under pressure from the governor.

Lawmakers said that Acierno had been an obstacle to necessary reforms and responded defiantly and defensively when presented with any kind of bureaucratic challenges.

The Legislature will vote on Williams’ confirmation during its next session.

References:

• KETV—Omaha man named Nebraska chief medical officer (8/2/16)
• Omaha World-Herald—Omaha pathologist Thomas L. Williams named Nebraska's chief medical officer (8/1/16)