On November 11, 1942, the existing health departments within Dade County were consolidated to form the present Dade County Health Unit. The new organization completed its first year of operation on November 10, 1943. At the beginning of the Department’s history the roster of employees totaled 81, including part time clinicians. War time conditions had made the tasks of finding and keeping adequately trained personnel more difficult.
Our county health department represents the largest population of the 67 counties in Florida, and is the second largest, following Palm Beach, in terms of budget and staff. The Florida Department of Health in Miami-Dade provides health services to over 2 million residents of Miami-Dade County.
Miami-Dade Health Officers
- 1896-1942 – James M. Jackson, MD
- 1942-1942 – Dr. T.H.D. Griffitts
- 1942-1967 – Turner Elam Cato, MD, MPH
- 1968-1970 – William R. Stinger, MD, MPH
- 1970-1976 – Milton Saslaw, MD, PhD
- 1976-1989 – Richard A. Morgan, MD, MPH
- 1990-2000 – Annie Neasman, RN, MS
- 2000-2002 – James J. James, MD, PhD, MHA, FACPM
- 2003-2019 – Lillian Rivera, RN, MSN, PhD
- 2019-Present – Yesenia Villalta, APRN, DNP, MSN
Historical Records
Annual Reports (1943-2017)
History of public health in Miami-Dade County through the years.
Florida Memory Project, Department of State
Provides free online access to select archival resources from the collections of the State Library and Archives of Florida.