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Dr. Larry JechaDr. Larry D. Jecha, MD

Interim Health Officer

The District Health Officer provides the legal authority and medical oversight for preserving the health of the community. The position reports directly to the Benton-Franklin Health District Board of Health.

Dr. Larry D. Jecha is a preventive medicine physician who was a former Health Officer for BFHD. He received his doctor of medicine degree from the University of Kansas Medical School and his masters of public health from the University of California, Los Angeles.

District Health Officer:

  • Informs and confers with the management team, District Administrator, the Benton-Franklin Health Board, and the community on health concerns and issues affecting Benton and Franklin counties.
  • While the health officer does not directly manage any departments the regulatory functions of surveillance and investigation, such as permitting of food establishments or septic systems and control of communicable diseases or outbreak are performed under the health officer’s license.
  • All clinical decision making also occurs under the medical authority of the health officer. This includes immunization standing orders or antibiotics to treat or prevent communicable diseases such as syphilis or tuberculosis.
  • Areas of responsibility include, but are not limited to: surveillance & investigation, healthy people & communities and performance management.
  • Strengthening community-clinical linkages, communication to the public and decision makers about issues of public health importance and functioning within the local public health leadership team to promote health in all policies are also additional important, but not mandated, activities of the health officer.