COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina’s Public Health Director, Dr. Joan Duwve, who was chosen by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine to take over Ohio’s top health position, said in a statement to The State.com that she withdrew her name hours after her hiring was announced publicly because she didn’t want her family to deal with the harassment that Dr. Amy Acton’s family faced.
“In conversations preparing for the transition to the Ohio Department of Health, I was informed that the former director’s family had faced harassment from the public,” she said. “While I have dedicated my life to improving public health, my first commitment is to my family. I am a public figure. My family is off limits. I withdrew my name from consideration to protect my family from similar treatment,” Duwve said, according to The State.com.
Acton served as DeWine’s chief health advisor even after stepping down from her role as health director but left that role as well in August to return to her work at the Columbus Foundation.
Duwve said she is still stepping down from her position with South Carolina’s state health department but will serve in an advisory role until Oct. 1, The State reported.
RELATED: Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Amy Acton resigns
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