At today’s Nevada County Board of Supervisors meeting, Supervisors unanimously approved an 18-month contract with Dr. Sherilynn Cooke to serve as Nevada County’s Health Officer beginning January 1, 2022.
“We feel extremely fortunate to have attracted such a qualified physician to support our county,” said Public Health Director Jill Blake. “Dr. Cooke has a true interest in and passion for public health and has previous public health experience as well as recent clinical experience. She has visited Nevada County for recreation and loves the area. She will be a great addition to our team.”
Dr. Cooke earned an MD from Stanford University and a Masters of Public Health from UCLA. She specializes in Internal Medicine and has worked in Public Health and Primary Care Medicine. Dr. Cooke is scheduled to retire from Kaiser in January to serve as the Nevada County Health Officer.
Cooke replaces Dr. Scott Kellermann, who agreed to serve as Nevada County’s interim Health Officer on a contract basis through 2021. With Kellermann’s contract set to end on December 31st, Nevada County began recruiting for a new health officer in September, working with a professional recruiting firm to attract top talent. “This is an extraordinarily difficult time to recruit public health officers,” said Nevada County Human Resources Director Steven Rose. “In addition to our regular public recruitment process through NeoGov, we advertised the position on LinkedIn, GovernmentJobs.com, and through professional organizations and targeted outreach to potential candidates. Ultimately, our panel interviewed three candidates and Dr. Cooke was offered the position pending Board approval.”
Each county in California is required by statute to have a health officer who is a licensed physician (either an MD or a DO). The health officer is responsible for carrying out sections of the State of California’s Health and Safety Code and serves as the physician of record for all Public Health clinical services. As the new health officer, Dr. Cooke will report to Public Health Director Jill Blake.
Dr. Glennah Trochet will remain as Deputy Health Officer to support the Public Health department as Dr. Cooke transitions into the position.
