Doctors are celebrating the creation of a new California Department of Public Health, effective July 1, 2007.

Introduced by State Sen. Deborah Ortiz (D-Sacramento), SB 162 establishes a Department of Public Health within the existing Health and Human Services Agency and statutorily transfers some responsibilities from the Department of Health Services to the new Department of Public Health. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger approved the bill Sept. 14 and will soon appoint a state public health officer to head the department, who must be a licensed physician or surgeon.

"Re-establishing a public health department has been a high priority for the California Medical Association for years," says Michael Sexton, MD, immediate past president. "We believe a separate department will provide the resources and attention that are required to maintain the health of Californians. Not long ago, California was in the forefront of public health innovations with some of the nation's leading programs in disease detection, epidemiology, and maternal and child health programs. We can be there again."

The creation of a new Department of Public Health will provide more focused leadership in public health and healthcare financing at the state level, officials say. It will also lead to decreased illness, injury and death rates, and greater protection for California residents in the event of an act of bioterrorism or other major public health emergency.

"In California, we face earthquakes, forest fires as well as threats of terrorism and disease outbreaks, like pandemic flu," Gov. Schwarzenegger says. "The clear message of all these threats is simple: 'Be ready.' This new Department of Public Health is another way we are strengthening our state's emergency preparedness and taking action to make the state safer."

The CMA has long championed a proactive public health policy. In 1870, California became the second state to establish a public health department. It was disbanded in the 1970s under then Gov. Ronald Reagan.