MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris today announced the reappointment of Dr. Alisa Haushalter as Director of the Shelby County Health Department. Haushalter has been serving as Director of the public health agency since January 2016.

“Under Dr. Haushalter’s leadership, the Health Department has taken the lead on addressing key health issues in our community such as opioid addiction and infant mortality,” Mayor Harris said. “With her continued leadership, I anticipate that the Health Department will be able to continue its important mission and lead key initiatives that will benefit Shelby County residents and promote good health.”

One of those current initiatives is leading the construction of its new 79,000 square-foot facility which was announced in 2017. The nearly $25 million state-of-the art-facility is expected to begin construction in December.

“The construction of a new facility and the opportunity to continue building key partnerships and improving health outcomes will continue to be my focus under Mayor Harris’s administration,” Haushalter said. 

Prior to Haushalter’s appointment as Health Department Director, she served as Senior Director of the Department of Population Health and Project Director of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation Grant for Nemours Health and Prevention Services in Wilmington, Delaware. Prior to that role, she served at the Metro Public Health Department in Nashville as Director of its Bureau of Population Health Programs and Project Director of Communities Putting Prevention to Work. In addition, Haushalter serves on the faculty of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Nursing and held prior faculty appointments at Meharry Medical College School of Public Health; Vanderbilt University School of Nursing, and the University of Florida Southeastern TB Training Center.

A native of Pittsburgh, Haushalter attended Carlow University and later earned her undergraduate degree in Nursing from Belmont University in Nashville in 1982, a Master’s degree in Nursing with a specialty in Family Practice from Vanderbilt University in 1997, and a Doctorate of Nursing Practice with a specialty in Public Health Nursing Leadership from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in 2007.

Haushalter serves on several local boards including the United Way of the Mid-South, Community Foundation, and ACE Awareness Task Force. She is also a member of the 2018 Executive Class of Leadership Memphis.