Dr. Edward Simmer is the interim director of the South Carolina Department of Public Health, a position he has held since the agency was created on July 1, 2024. Before that he was the director of the former South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control from 2021 to 2024.
As interim director of DPH, Dr. Simmer leads nearly 3,000 employees located in more than 100 health departments and regional offices across South Carolina. Dr. Simmer brings a people-first, data-driven approach to everything he does, which has resulted in significant improvements to public health outcomes in South Carolina. These improvements include, but are not limited to, the state achieving its highest national health ranking (37th) in 35 years and the securing of critical funding for a new state-of-the-art public health lab, three mobile health units to reach underserved areas in South Carolina, and a dedicated mobile maternal and infant care van to provide prenatal, postpartum and well-woman care statewide.
As DHEC director, Dr. Simmer led a team of 4,000 dedicated professionals in the areas of public health, healthcare quality, and environmental protection. He oversaw the state’s response to COVID-19 and Mpox, led the agency’s response to two hurricanes, and ensured the state’s health care facilities provided high-quality, safe care.
Dr. Simmer also has led DPH through several public health crises while moving the agency’s primary focus to outreach and engagement, eliminating disparities across the state, increasing access to care in rural areas, and providing resources that empower residents to improve their health. Dr. Simmer proactively works with numerous federal, state, and private stakeholders to extend the agency’s reach and ensure a coordinated approach to improving public health.
In his healthcare quality role, Dr. Simmer oversees licensing and quality of care at health care facilities across the state including hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and hospice care. Dr. Simmer also has led revisions to the state’s certificate-of-need program with the goal of improving quality and reducing bureaucratic delays in addition to regulating emergency medical services, controlled substance prescribing, and the state’s prescription management program and controlled substance licensing.
Prior to being confirmed as agency director, Dr. Simmer served over thirty years on active duty in the United States Navy. In his most recent assignment, he served as the first Chief Medical Officer and Deputy Director for the TRICARE Health Plan at the Defense Health Agency in Falls Church, Virginia. In this role, he was responsible for overseeing all clinical aspects of the civilian medical and dental care provided to the 9.5 million active-duty service members, military retirees, and their families worldwide. He also served as the first Officer-in-Charge of the Defense Health Agency Navy Element, creating the command from 27 formerly separate units and leading over 250 Sailors assigned to DHA worldwide.
A native of Ohio, he is board certified in general and forensic psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and is certified in administrative psychiatry by the American Psychiatric Association. He is also a distinguished life fellow of the American Psychiatric Association. He has been married to his wife, Peggy, for more than 36 years.