FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
January 28, 2021

LAS VEGAS – Today, the Southern Nevada District Board of Health appointed Acting Chief Health Officer, Fermin Leguen, MD, MPH, the permanent District Health Officer of the Southern Nevada Health District.

An ad hoc committee of the Board of Health had conducted a search and interviews for the district health officer position. Today, the board members cited Dr. Leguen’s ongoing leadership during the agency’s response to the pandemic as integral to their selection process.

“Dr. Leguen’s leadership and public health experience have been a tremendous asset to the Health District and the community as we have navigated this unprecedented response to the pandemic,” said North Las Vegas Councilman and Chair of Southern Nevada District Board of Health Scott Black.

Prior to beginning at the Health District in 2016 as the Director of Clinical Services and Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Leguen served as the Medical Executive Director at the Florida Department of Health in Pasco and Hernando Counties, the Medical Executive Director and Epidemiology Director for the Miami-Dade County Health Department, and was a primary care physician in Miami. Dr. Leguen also served as a consultant for the World Health Organization/Pan American Health Organization (WHO/PAHO) Immunization Program in Jamaica and Peru. Dr. Leguen received his MD from Havana University in Cuba and completed his General Preventive Medicine Residency and Master of Public Health from Johns Hopkins University.

“I am pleased to continue to serve my community and lead the Southern Nevada Health District,” said Dr. Leguen, District Health Officer of the Southern Nevada Health District. “Our public health staff, partners, and the community have been working tirelessly to stop this pandemic, and I am looking forward to building on our successes and the good work that we have started.”

The Southern Nevada Health District serves as the local public health authority for Clark County, Boulder City, Henderson, Las Vegas, Mesquite and North Las Vegas. The agency safeguards the public health of the community’s residents and visitors through innovative programs, regulations, and initiatives focused on protecting and promoting their health and well-being. More information about the Health District, its programs, services, and the regulatory oversight it provides is available at www.SNHD.info. Follow the Health District on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.