Gov. Mike DeWine announced during his coronavirus update that Dr. Amy Acton is stepping aside as director of the state Department of Public Health.
DeWine said that earlier this week Acton informed him that she felt it was time for her to step down.
(See: Dr. Acton resignation follows months in the spotlight, crosshairs from Ohio Capital Journal.)
DeWine said he persuaded her to stay on as his chief health advisor. In that role she will continue to advise him on the coronavirus pandemic, but also take a broader view of public health and look at issues such as infant mortality and teen suicide that she focused on during her first year on the job.
DeWine said while all the decisions made in response to the pandemic were his, he did rely on her “superb” advice.
“Many, many lives,” he said, were saved as a result of her guidance.
Lance Himes, a former director, has been appointed as interim health director.
In her remarks, Acton praised the work of her team, which she called “the order of the good,” and local health departments.
Acton also praised the Ohio Highway Patrol’s executive protection team for being with her through “hard nights and hard days.” She became a lightning rod for those who opposed the state’s stay at home order.
But she also became a folk hero, and for some people the daily press briefings became appointment viewing. Local musician Sheri Wells-Jensen even wrote new lyrics to the Pure Prairie League’s “Amie,” as a celebration of “Dr. Amy.”
Acton told Ohioans that “you have saved lives.”
“A pandemic it disrupts us,” Acton said. “This little virus that we can’t see, in some ways has been bigger than all of us. But I think it’s also opened us to see things in new light. It’s woken us up and allowed us to see new opportunities.”
