By John Estridge
Franklin County Commissioners and the FC Health Board will announce the appointment of Dr. David Welsh as the county’s new health officer at a special joint meeting Tuesday afternoon, August 31.
Welsh is a surgeon who works out of Margaret Mary Health and also Decatur County Memorial Hospital in Greensburg. Also, Welsh is the Ripley County Health Officer.
Franklin County has been without a health officer for a short time. Dr. Scott Marsteller resigned in July because he did not support state COVID-19 guidelines to vaccinate children and teens. By Indiana Code, public health officers have to support state health department guidelines and mandates.
Dr. David Jetmore was appointed as the county’s new health officer during a special commissioners meeting on August 17. Less than four hours later, he resigned that position.
Welsh will be announced Tuesday, according to Franklin County Commissioners.
According to an article on the Indiana State Medical Association (ISMA) website dated June 9, 2020, after graduating cum laude from the University of Notre Dame, Welsh earned his medical degree from the Indiana University School of Medicine and completed his residency program at Good Samaritan Hospital in Cincinnati.
In June 2020, the ISMA announced Welsh, a past president of the ISMA, was re-elected to the American Medical Association (AMA) Council on Science and Public Health. In addition, Welsh has been named to the council’s executive committee.
The AMA Council on Science and Public Health consists of 12 physicians who advise on policies through scientific evidence that can improve patient care, promote medical progress and enhance public health.
According to the June 2020 article, Welsh serves as chair of the AMA Organized Medical Staff Section Governing Council and is a past chair of the Joint Commission Hospital Professional and Technical Advisory Committee. In 2014, Welsh represented the AMA at the World Medical Association Leadership and Advocacy meeting in Singapore.
Welsh has served as a governor of the American College of Surgeons, which honored his service with the Arthur Ellenberger Advocacy Award for Excellence in State Advocacy. He was elected president of the Indiana State Medical Association in 2008 and has also served on the ISMA Commission on Legislation and as chair of the Board of Trustees.
The article went on to say: “His nearly 40 years of medical training have been critical to his work serving the community as Ripley County health officer. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, Welsh has been a leading voice in southern Indiana’s fight against the coronavirus.”
Welsh is a black belt and filmed videos for the Ripley County Health Department in 2020 concerning combating COVID using his black belt as a theme.
https://www.remax.com/real-estate-agents/dennis-kolb-brookville-in/100081480
