Who serves on a county board of health?

A county board of health has 11 members, appointed by the county commissioners. The board’s membership must include a physician, a dentist, an optometrist, a veterinarian, a registered nurse, a pharmacist, a county commissioner, a professional engineer, and three representatives of the general public. The members of the board who represent one of the named professions must be licensed. Members must be residents of the county, with one exception: if there is no county resident available for appointment to the licensed optometrist position, the county commissioners may appoint either a licensed optometrist from another county or a member of the general public to serve in that position. For all of the other licensed professional positions, if there is no county resident available to serve, the commissioners must appoint a member of the general public to serve in that position. If there is only one county resident available to serve in a professional position, the county commissioners have the option of appointing either that person or a member of the general public.[1]