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07/10/2018

Mark Hurst, MD takes over as director of OMHAS with Tracy Plouk's resignation

 

Source: Ohio Governor John Kasich’s Office


Mark Hurst, MD, has been named by Governor John Kasich as the new director of the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (Ohio MHAS). He replaces Tracy Plouck who left to take a job with a non-profit organization. Dr. Hurst has been with the state mental health agency since 1991, and has served as the medical director of the Ohio MHAS for the past six years.

In making the appointment, Governor Kasich said, “Dr. Hurst’s leadership, insights, and compassion have distinguished him as a valuable member of our team, and contributed mightily to the progress Ohio is beginning to make against addiction, and to lift up our fellow Ohioans struggling with mental illness. The work ahead is monumental and the challenges will continue to shift, but his leadership has been and will continue to be an enormous asset in Ohio’s efforts in these areas.”

The governor also expressed his gratitude for Director Plouck who has been a member of his cabinet since he took office in January 2011. “I’m extremely grateful to Tracy Plouck for her leadership, compassion, counsel, and service to Ohio. She has a servant spirit and exemplifies the best in public leadership. She is a model for other leaders to follow, and I wish her and her family all the best in this new chapter of their lives.”

As the agency’s medical director, Dr. Hurst had broad responsibilities, supervising six regional psychiatric hospitals as well as drug and alcohol recovery services in the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections. He is a native of Zanesville, OH, and a graduate of Muskingum College and the Medical College of Ohio. Dr. Hurst did his medical residency training at the University of Michigan and at The Ohio State University.

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