According to the state of Louisiana's website, the state's Department of Health has appointed Dr. Wyche T. Coleman III to the newly created position of deputy public health director.
The appointment follows a series of leadership changes at the Louisiana Department of Health when Gov. Jeff Landry took office earlier this year, including the creation of the Office of Surgeon General through House Bill 853.
In June, Governor Landry appointed former Congressman and family medicine physician Dr. Ralph Abraham as Louisiana's first Surgeon General, replacing the former state health commissioner and defined as “the lead advocate for health and disease prevention in the state.”
Dr. Ralph Abraham
Governor Landry also appointed former hospital executive Michael Harrington to serve as state health commissioner, a position Abraham formerly held. A June press release described the two positions as “co-equal.” The commissioner is responsible for implementing the Surgeon General's recommendations and overseeing the budget. Approximately $20 billion of Louisiana's state budget is dedicated to health care, nearly half of the state's budget.
Michael Harrington was appointed state health commissioner in June 2024 by Gov. Jeff Landry.
Photo courtesy of the Louisiana Department of Health
Coleman, an ophthalmologist, is currently listed as a member of the leadership team on the LDH website. The legislation creating the Surgeon General's Office does not mention a deputy Surgeon General position, and it is unclear how the state will fund the position. The state has not responded to questions about the funding or duties of the position.
Coleman works for the Willis-Knighton Physician Network, a group of about 400 doctors based in northwest Louisiana. A longtime friend of Abraham's, Coleman was Abraham's son's roommate during medical school, and the two even climbed Mount Kilimanjaro together, according to a 2019 interview.
A fiscal memo accompanying the bill budgets $481,700 for the Surgeon General's office for the next fiscal year. The previous state health director's salary at the end of last year was about $244,000 before leaving the position. A June press release called the Surgeon General position “budget neutral.”
Louisiana would join several other states that have created the position of Surgeon General, including California, Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania, Arkansas and Michigan.
