Celebrating Seven Years with Chief Health Officer Dr. Nilesh Kalyanaraman

On Thursday, August 1, Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman announced his nomination of Dr. Nilesh Kalyanaraman as the new County Health Officer.

Read the full announcement

A new adventure

In this new position, Nilesh will oversee a $62M budget and 700 staff of the Anne Arundel County Department of Health; he will also work with the Maryland Department of Health and his colleagues across the state to promote the health and well-being of nearly 600,000 residents of a diverse county that encompasses the capitol city of Annapolis

Leaving a legacy

Dr. Kalyanaraman (lovingly called Dr. K around our clinics) joined us in 2012. Since then, he has worked tirelessly to grow our clinical services, guide us to achieve recognition as a Patient-Centered Medical Home, launch new service sites and build the systems necessary to increase client access and improve health care outcomes.

With bold vision, deep compassion, restless inquisitiveness, and a copious supply of sticky notes and dry erase markers, Nilesh oversaw unprecedented growth opportunities during the implementation of Medicaid expansion, deepened relationships with public and private health institutions, furthered our involvement in supportive housing, and recruited and mentored diverse clinical leadership. He also nurtured relationships with colleagues across the country as a Board member and Chair of the Research Committee for the National Health Care for the Homeless Council.

Throughout his tenure no matter how complex his universe administratively and while doing all of the above, Nilesh still made time to practice as a physician and serve clients.

Celebrating Next Steps

We are stronger today because of Nilesh’s leadership. So many of our collective agency-wide achievements bear his indelible fingerprints.

Our pride in Nilesh and our excitement about his next challenge also give way to a modicum of sadness, but for now, we celebrate Dr. Nilesh Kalyanaraman’s leadership, legacy, and the opportunity before him to further advance public health in Maryland. We know that wherever he may roam, he will continue the work to improve health and end homelessness.

The Anne Arundel County Council is expected to confirm Nilesh’s nomination on Tuesday, September 3. If confirmed, the approved nomination will go before Governor Larry Hogan for final approval.