The Commissioner of the Bureau for Public Health may be designated the state health officer. The commissioner and the state health officer shall be appointed by the secretary. The commissioner shall be a person holding a doctorate degree in public health administration unless designated the state health officer. The state health officer shall be licensed under the laws of this state to practice medicine. The commissioner and the state health officer serve at the will and pleasure of the secretary and shall not be actively engaged or employed in any other business, vocation, or employment, serving full-time in the duties of the office as prescribed by this article.

Terms Used In West Virginia Code 16-1-5

  • Bureau: means the Bureau for Public Health in the department. See West Virginia Code 16-1-2
  • Commissioner: means the commissioner of the bureau, who may be designated as the state health officer. See West Virginia Code 16-1-2
  • Secretary: means the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Resources: Provided, That beginning January 1, 2024, as used in this chapter, "secretary" means the secretary of the Department of Health. See West Virginia Code 16-1-2
  • State: when applied to a part of the United States and not restricted by the context, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories, and the words "United States" also include the said district and territories. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10