According to the Louisiana Department of Health, Joe Kanter, MD, Louisiana public health officer, is resigning from the post.
Kanter has served in the position since January 2021, having replaced Jimmy Guidry, MD. Guidry served the in office for 24 years. Pete Croughan, MD, deputy LDH secretary, has been named interim state health officer.
A highlights of Kanter’s leadership was his push toward vaccine drives among nursing home residents and staff, who were among the hardest hit with COVID fatalities and serious illnesses early in the pandemic.
Kanter continues to serve on the medical staff at University Health Center in New Orleans and as a faculty member at LSU Health Sciences Center and Tulane University School of Medicine.