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State Health Commissioner
Virginia Department of Health
109 Governor Street, 13th Floor
Richmond, VA 23219
Phone: 804/864-7009
E-mail: karen.remley@vdh.virginia.gov

Karen Remley, MD, MBA, has been Virginia’s health commissioner since January 2008, serving under both Governor Bob McDonnell and former Governor Tim Kaine. As health commissioner, she is the principal public health advisor to the governor, secretary of Health and Human Resources, the Virginia General Assembly, and the state Board of Health. She also supervises one of the state’s largest agencies, which includes 119 local health departments organized into 35 health districts throughout the Commonwealth.

With the support and commitment of senior leadership, Dr. Remley has achieved three of her top public health priorities since being appointed commissioner. First, she has initiated a renewed focus on all aspects of maternal and child health. Second, she has overseen performance and quality improvements that have enhanced productivity and efficiency across all of the Virginia Department of Health’s programs and services. Lastly, by actively engaging the state’s private sector clinical community as partners, she has expanded the reach of public health to every doctor’s office, clinic, and hospital in Virginia.

Among Dr. Remley’s most recent accomplishments as state health commissioner are three awards for the outstanding work being done by the Virginia Department of Health. Dr. Remley received the Emergency Medicine Hero Award from the Virginia College of Emergency Physicians and the Regent’s Award from the American College of Health Executives. Both honors were in recognition of her significant and exceptional leadership and service to the public and health care providers. Dr. Remley is equally proud of her national recognition as a Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Champion in the Field of Maternal and Child Health.