Dr. Russell Lee-Wood Named Interim Belmont County Health Commissioner
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ST. CLAIRSVILLE -- The Belmont County Health Department has welcomed Dr. Russell Lee-Wood as its new interim health commissioner.
He will helm the department following Monday's resignation of Dr. George Cholak, who had served as the county's health commissioner for 25 years. Lee-Wood, a Barnesville resident, began filling the post Wednesday and is acclimating himself to the job.
"We're up and running and I know by sometime in March they'll have an idea where things are going," he said. "I think it was a bit of a surprise for everybody, so we'll have to see what happens.
"It was quite a surprise when they called me, and it was an honor for them to ask me. I think there's a lot going on, and I think a lot of things will happen, but I've got 30 years of military service and I'm pretty adaptable, so I'm looking forward to the challenge and I'll help out as long as I can."
This marks his first time in a county-level office.
"I was the medical director for Ohio Hills (Health Centers based in Barnesville) for 24 years, but this is certainly a lot more than I'm used to anticipating," he said.
Lee-Wood has worked in emergency rooms and in hospital medicine. He has been deployed to Afghanistan, Iraq and Kosovo with the military. He was a colonel in the medical corps in the U.S. Army Reserves and had served in the British Army for nine years.
"I'm fairly confident I can step up and do what needs to be done," he said.
Lee-Wood added that he looks forward to working with Deputy Commission Robert Sproul. He noted there are many current and ongoing challenges the health department will be grappling with.
"Of course we had this disaster in Eastern Ohio. We'll have to see how that works out, whether it affects Belmont County or not. Thank God we're still over the COVID pandemic, and hopefully this will quiet down and it won't affect the residents of Belmont too terribly," he said.
It is necessary for someone with a medical degree to serve as health commissioner, since the health department is working under the commissioner's license when its staff prescribes and distributes medicine.
According to a press release from the health department, Lee-Woods' interim employment will allow the board to review the position for any needed updates. Upon completion of the updates, the board will post for the position and request resumes for consideration.