Dr. Kismet Baldwin-Santana has officially started her role as San Mateo County’s Health Officer. Dr. Baldwin-Santana started her career as a neonatologist after receiving her Doctor of Medicine from Ohio State University and completing a fellowship and post-doctoral fellowship at the University of California, Los Angeles.  She also has a Master of Public Health from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Public Health. Dr. Baldwin-Santana brings extensive experience guiding public health emergency preparedness, communicable disease prevention, including COVID-19, epidemiology, and public health laboratory services. She is passionate about collaboration and looks forward to working in partnership with community to advance health priorities.  

Please also take time to view the five-minute video “Meet the New County Health Officer video”; in the video she shares her thoughts about the role of health officers, the current challenges facing local health departments, building community ties, and what makes San Mateo County a great place to be a public health leader.