Alvin D. Jackson, M.D.
Director, Ohio Department of Health

Ohio's Doctor: Alvin D. Jackson, M.D., became director of the Ohio Department
of Health (ODH) June 4, 2007, following his appointment by Gov. Ted Strickland in
January. Dr. Jackson brings to ODH his holistic approach, the chronic disease
prevention model of health care - a model in which patients are partners with their
physicians in maintaining good health and charting courses of treatment when needed.

As he begins his tenure, Dr. Jackson plans to work to implement Strickland's Turnaround Ohio plan by making affordable, quality health care accessible to all Ohioans regardless of their personal situation. Patient education and disease prevention are among Dr. Jackson's top priorities as he builds relationships with Ohio's 130 local health departments and other public and private health care providers to help protect and improve the health of all Ohioans.

Fluent in Spanish, Dr. Jackson comes to ODH from Community Health Services in Fremont, Ohio, where he provided primary medical care to rural residents and migrant workers since 1993 and served as medical director since 1995. Under Dr. Jackson's leadership, Community Health Services expanded its reach from three counties to 12; reduced its no-show rate from 21 percent to 9 percent; opened a pediatric suite; and expanded its in-the-field care services, with the addition of a mobile clinic, for migrant workers.

Dr. Jackson himself has provided care in the fields since 1998. Dr. Jackson was Chief of Staff of Fremont Memorial Hospital from 2003 to 2005 and a staff physician at the Sandusky County Health Department from 1994 to 2006. In 2000, he served as president of the Midwest Clinicians Network and was its state representative to the Ohio Association of Community Health Centers in 2001.

In addition to his professional duties, Dr. Jackson and his wife, Gayle, have been active in the Fremont volunteer community. In 1995, they founded the African-American College Club to tutor and encourage students of color to attend college. The same year, Dr. Jackson helped launch the mentoring group Brother to Brother to steer young African-American males away from guns, alcohol and drugs.

Dr. Jackson has lobbied Congress to maintain funds for community health centers' efforts to recruit providers to work in underserved areas; has traveled to Honduras to provide medical help in the wake of Hurricane Mitch in 1999; and in 2002 helped Liberian citizens rebuild and restock a hospital decimated by that country's civil war. In September of 2005, Dr. Jackson and his medical team took their mobile clinic, equipped with two exam rooms, a mini-pharmacy and refrigeration system, to Bay St. Louis,

Mississippi to assist with the Hurricane Katrina disaster relief.

Dr. Jackson hails from Portal, Ga., a community of about 500 residents, mostly descended from former slaves. Having lost his mother in a tragic accident at a young age, he was raised by his grandparents and spent many evenings with sick people to keep them company and watch for medical crises. When not in school, he spent his days picking crops in the fields with his father or grandparents. At the high school, where he was one of the first African American students to attend, a teacher suggested that he

take agriculture courses to prepare for a life in the fields. He ignored this advice, made the honor society and enrolled in Alabama's Oakwood College, where he earned an academic scholarship.

Dr. Jackson earned his B.S. from Michigan's Andrews University before graduating from The Ohio State University College of Medicine and completing his residency at Toledo's Mercy Hospital. In 2000, Dr. Jackson won Pfizer's Ohio Quality Care award; in 2001, he won the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Clinician award for his dedication to the nation's migrant farm workers. That same year, Dr. Jackson earned the Robert Wood Johnson Community Health Leadership award.

In 2004, Dr. Jackson received an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Heidelberg College of Ohio for his humanitarian efforts with migrant workers and foreign relief efforts.

The Jacksons have four adult children; two are physicians, one is a banker and one is a college student.

Download a printable pdf of Dr. Jackson's bio.