Abilene City Council approved the appointment of Dr. Gary Holland as the new Health Authority and Medical Director for the Abilene-Taylor County Health District at their Jan. 11 meeting.
Taylor County Commissioners previously approved Holland for the position at their Jan. 2 meeting. Both councils must approve the recommendation because of the shared public health services district.
Holland is a medical doctor with a specialty in family practice. After graduating from University of Texas Medical Branch, Holland completed his residency in family medicine at Phoenix Baptist Hospital in Arizona. He retired from Abilene Diagnostic after 34 years of service in 2018. He currently sees patients at the Presbyterian Medical Care Mission in Abilene and works part-time at Hospice of the Big Country.
In this position, Holland’s duties include establishing and enforcing quarantine orders, aiding in disease prevention, quarantine inspections, sanitation issues and general population health, overseeing reports of infectious diseases to the state, serving as medical director for the health district and aiding local jurisdictions in carrying out public health required rules and ordinances.
The salary for this position is paid out of the Public Health Administration fund, and his contract will exceed $50,000 annually. Holland will begin his two-year term effective immediately.
The Public Health Department for the city of Abilene includes the Abilene Taylor-County Public Health District and is the community’s source for health management and maintenance, whether it’s personal health or environmental health.
