A New State Epidemiologist for Maine!
By Dan Onion, MD, MPH
Mt. Vernon/Vienna Health Officer
293-2076; dkonion@gmail.com
August, 2015
After several years of devastating cuts to the Maine public health systems and over 25% reductions in the Maine public health work force, I found the announcement below in the Maine Medical Association June 15 newsletter particularly encouraging. That a public health physician with these credentials would move across the country to help us is wonderful at anytime, but even more so in these trying times. As I’ve pointed out in these columns before, strong clinical care access and public health strategies can and do save lives and money, as we have demonstrated in Franklin County over the years (J Am Med Assoc, 2015; 313(2):147-155). So here is some good news!
“In a letter dated June 10th to Public Health Partners of the Maine CDC, the agency announced that Siiri Bennett, M.D. has accepted the position of State Epidemiologist. Dr. Bennett is a graduate of Radcliffe College, Harvard University. She obtained her medical degree from the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle, Washington and completed her residency in Internal Medicine at Mt. Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Dr. Bennett currently is a senior research scientist and medical data consultant in the Department of Biostatistics at the University of Washington in Seattle where she is co-principal investigator for an NIH-funded Data Coordinating Center for a multi-study collaboration looking at tuberculosis latency and reactivation and also serves as project director for a multi-study consortium looking at cardiovascular disease in patients with HIV.
Dr. Bennett is trained in applied epidemiology and research, preventive medicine and public health with well-developed skills in project planning, collaboration and project and team management. She completed the U.S. Centers for for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) program and the CDC's Preventive Medicine Residency Program in the Hospital Infections Program and went on to work as a medical epidemiologist for US CDC and the Institute of Environmental Sciences and Research (ESR) in New Zealand. During her time with CDC, she gained experience in infectious disease outbreak investigation and control of communicable disease. Dr. Bennett also worked as a staff medical epidemiologist in the National Immunization Program where she was responsible for coordinating the division's vaccine-preventable disease surveillance activities. While in New Zealand, she served as project lead for a number of projects including the design and management of a national sexually transmitted infection surveillance system and provided infection control expertise and guidance to ESR on nosocomial infection surveillance.
Dr. Bennett has published in peer review journals, presented at national and international meetings and conducted training workshops and courses in both the US and overseas. She has collaborated with public health leaders across the world and brings with her the ability to work with people from diverse backgrounds and agencies.
Dr. Bennett's broad skill set and enthusiasm will serve the Maine Department of Health and Human Services well. She and her husband will be relocating to Maine from Seattle. Dr. Bennett will begin her new role as State Epidemiologist for Maine CDC on July 20, 2015.”
I am looking forward to meeting Dr. Bennett.