Cathy Slemp

Director, TPI and Acting State Health Officer
WV Bureau for Public Health
350 Capitol St., Room 702
Charleston, WV 25301-
Work Phone (304) 558-2971
Fax Number (304) 558-1035
cathyslemp@wvdhhr.org

Dr. Slemp currently holds two positions with the Bureau for Public Health in the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources.  She is the Acting State Health Officer and the Director of the Division of Threat Preparedness.  She has been with the Bureau in these and other positions for the past 12 years.  She is also on the faculty of WVU’s Department of Community Medicine.

Cathy comes to these roles from an infectious disease epidemiology background. She previously served as the Director of the WV Infectious Disease Epidemiology Program, Division of Surveillance and Disease Control, WVBPH. There, she was responsible for communicable disease surveillance, consultation, and outbreak investigation, as well as for management of WV's Emerging Infectious Disease grant from CDC. Other key activities have included development of a system of regional epidemiologists across the state, a distance learning series on emerging infectious diseases for health care providers, field based training for public health staff, and development of communicable disease standards for local health departments.

For much of her time with the Division of Surveillance and Disease Control, Cathy also served as medical epidemiologist for the WV Cancer Registry. Subsequent positions continued work to strengthen state and local public health systems through the WV Transitions Project. Cathy also serves as adjunct faculty in the Department of Community Medicine, WVU School of Medicine. In addition, she spearheads the Bureau for Public Health's strategic planning efforts.

Cathy is board certified in both Family Practice and Public Health / Preventive Medicine. She undertook her medical training at Duke University, family practice residency at St. Margaret Memorial Hospital in Pittsburgh, and her preventive medicine residency at Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health. She was a member of the first class of the SEPHLI and is excited to be joining this group once again (figuring you can never learn too much about leadership or pass up opportunities to further develop skills!)

Cathy lives in Milton, WV with her husband, Chris Branam, MD and their two children. Their oldest is working and playing his way through kindergarten this year. The youngest, a very independent 3 year old, can usually be found doing her best to impersonate superheroes, dinosaurs, or other lively creatures.