February 21, 2002

Press Release

Statement
Jeffrey P. Koplan, M.D., M.P.H., Director
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Effective March 31, 2002, I will be stepping down as Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Administrator, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR).

I have often said that the CDC Director's job is the best job in public health and is certainly the highlight of my 26 years of service to improve the public's health. CDC is both nationally and internationally recognized as the premier public health institution. It has been an honor and privilege to serve as the leader of such a dedicated, talented, and hard working group of professionals.

I have been fortunate to serve as CDC Director during the last three and one-half years when CDC has made great progress in addressing a number of significant health challenges. Among our accomplishments are:

• responding swiftly and effectively to the nation's first major bioterrorism event;
• building state, local, and CDC capacity to respond to bioterrorism and other public health threats and emergencies;
• addressing the nation's obesity epidemic with solid scientific data;
• focusing on preventing chronic diseases such as heart disease and diabetes that impair the quality of life and cause premature death;
• maintaining the highest national immunization coverage levels ever and pushing the world closer to the eradication of polio; and
• implementing CDC's master plan for state-of-the-art facilities.

I appreciate the opportunity to serve as CDC Director and know that CDC will continue to protect the health and safety of the American people.

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