Smith County Health Authority Dr. Paul McGaha

Smith County Commissioners appointed and welcomed Dr. Valerie B. Smith as the new Smith County health authority.

Recommended to the commissioners court by the Northeast Texas Public Health Board of Directors, she was sworn in Tuesday by County Judge Neal Franklin, and is replacing Dr. Paul McGaha after his retirement.

Smith currently serves as assistant professor of pediatrics with the University of Texas of Tyler School of Medicine.

She received her medical degree from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School and completed her pediatric residency at Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock. Then she received her master of public health from the University of Texas Science Center School of Community and Rural Health.

For almost 20 years, Smith has helped the children of East Texas as a pediatrician at St. Paul’s Children’s Foundation.

Smith serves multiple leadership roles with the Texas Pediatric Society, of which she serves as secretary/treasurer and co-chairs its executive legislative committee; Texas Medical Association, for which she serves as the chairwoman of its Council of Science and Public Health; and the American Academy of Pediatrics, for which she serves as its district facilitator for the Community to Access to Child Health Program and serves on its Committee on Federal Government Affairs.

She also serves on the board of the East Texas Food Bank, NET Health and Texans Care for Children.

“She is obviously very well trained and has a great deal of experience to offer as Smith County health authority,” said George Roberts, NET Health CEO.

Established during the 79th Legislative Session, health authorities are physicians appointed to administer state and local laws relating to public health within an appointing body’s jurisdiction, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. Their duties include establishing, maintaining and enforcing jurisdictional quarantine orders; aiding local health boards or departments in quarantine inspections, disease prevention and suppression efforts; and reporting the presence of contagious or infectious diseases to local and state authorities, among other things.

“I had the honor and privilege of working alongside Dr. (Jeffery) Levine when he was Smith County health authority,” said Councilmember John Moore. “And I got to see firsthand the immense responsibility, the immense authority that health authority has in our county. I am glad to see Dr. Smith coming up.”