The assistant secretary for health (ASH) is a senior U.S. government official within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) who serves as the primary advisor to the secretary of health and human services on matters involving the nation's public health, and provides strategic and policy direction to the

Public Health Service The United States Public Health Service (USPHS or PHS) is a collection of agencies of the Department of Health and Human Services which manages public health, containing nine out of the department's twelve operating divisions. The Assistant Se ...

agencies and Commissioned Corps. The position is a statutory Senate-confirmed presidential appointment (), who may be a civilian, or a uniformed four-star

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

of the PHS Commissioned Corps and is nominated for appointment by the

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

. The president may also nominate a civilian appointee to also be appointed a direct commission in the commissioned corps if the nominee so chooses. The assistant secretary's office and its staff make up the

Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health An office is a space where the employees of an organization perform administrative work in order to support and realize the various goals of the organization. The word "office" may also denote a position within an organization with specific du ...

(OASH).

History

The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health and Scientific Affairs was established on January 1, 1967, following Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1966. The new position supplanted the

surgeon general Surgeon general (: surgeons general) is a title used in several Commonwealth countries and most NATO nations to refer either to a senior military medical officer or to a senior uniformed physician commissioned by the government and entrusted with p ...

as the head of the PHS, with all PHS component heads now reporting to the assistant secretary. This was seen as undermining the chain of command of the PHS Commissioned Corps, beginning a long-term shift where Commissioned Corps officers were more responsible to the agencies they were stationed in than to the corps itself. The office was renamed the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health following the

Department of Education Organization Act The Department of Education Organization Act is a United States federal law enacted in 1979, which created the Department of Education. The new department was split off from the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, which the Act also r ...

in 1972. In 1995, supervision of the agencies within PHS was shifted to report directly to the secretary of health and human services. This transformed the assistant secretary for health from a supervisory position in the direct chain of command, into an advisory one. In 2010, the office's name was changed from Office of Public Health and Science to Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health.

Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health

As of 2018, the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health oversees 12 core public health offices, 10 regional health offices, and 10 presidential and secretarial advisory committees. US PHS O10 insignia

List

References

External links

Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (ASH)

{{HHS agencies United States Department of Health and Human Services United States Public Health Service *