Will Humble stepped down as head of the Arizona Department of Health Services last month, saying he wasn't sure where he'd head. Well, it was just announced that he was appointed Division Director for Health Policy and Evaluation at the Arizona Health Sciences Center's Center for Population Science and Discovery in the UA.
His first day is April 13.
Elizabeth Calhoun, Humble's new boss and the Associate Vice President for Population Health Sciences and Executive Director of the Center for Population Science and Discovery, issued this statement:
“The Center for Population Science and Discovery Center is well-positioned to bring the kind of analytical depth needed to catalyze improvements in population health in Arizona. Will brings unique skills and strong relationships to the center – a perfect fit for our strategic goal to create linkages among researchers, public health organizations, health providers, health systems and payers to improve population health and reduce health-care costs.""The center rapidly is becoming Arizona’s 'go-to' clearing house for identifying evidence-based solutions and best practices to improve population health and promote health equity throughout Arizona," a UA press release says.
Gov. Doug Ducey had said he wanted to keep Humble as AZHS director, but Humble announced his retirement from the department shortly after. He'd been there since 1992 and was director for six years. His last day was March 3.
He was at the forefront of the implementation of Arizona's voter-approved medical marijuana program. Marijuana advocates argued he didn't do much for the industry afterwards. He was in a couple lawsuits, including one to force him to add post-traumatic stress disorder to the list of the Medical Marijuana Act's qualifying debilitating conditions.
