Florida Deputy Secretary for Health Shamarial Roberson – a veteran of the state’s fight against the COVID-19 virus – is stepping down from her post, a Department of Health spokesperson confirmed Tuesday morning.
As Florida continues to be an epicenter of COVID infections, her resignation temporarily leaves the department without another top leader.
A colleague, who asked not to be named, said Roberson’s leaving was her own decision, citing her desire to spend more time with her family after “essentially being on call 24/7” through most of the COVID-19 pandemic.
When the state was producing daily COVID statistical reports, for instance, Roberson supervised the staff compiling the data, which for them was an “all night job, every night,” according to the colleague and also confirmed by Health spokesperson Weesam Khoury.
In a written statement provided to the USA TODAY Network-Florida, Roberson said “serving Floridians the past eight years at the Department of Health has been the most rewarding experience of my career.
“Our teams have worked around the clock to not only respond to COVID-19 but promote and maintain public health statewide across all facets of our Department,” she added. “Together we have ensured Florida remains at the forefront of public health nationwide through grassroots and initiatives encompassing the entire state of Florida.”
Her last day is Oct. 14, Khoury said. Her future professional plans are as yet unknown.
Resignation follows that of Scott Rivkees
Tuesday’s news follows Florida Health Secretary and state Surgeon General Scott Rivkees saying he was stepping down after his contract runs out Sept. 20. That includes a three-month extension after his original two-year contract ended.
The deal allowed him to keep his full professor status and salary at the University of Florida, where he was chair of the pediatrics department at the College of Medicine and physician-in-chief of UF Health Shands Children’s Hospital.
The pandemic has taken a toll on other high-profile members of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration, most notably Jared Moskowitz, formerly the director of the Division of Emergency Management.
The back story:
He’s been open about the demands of his job and the stresses it put on his family: “My kids are 7 and 4. When I started this job, they were 5 and 2. I’ve been in this job for 50% of my younger one’s life,” he said on one social media post earlier this year.
Moskowitz said he and Roberson “worked together daily, from buying PPE (personal protective equipment) to buying test kits and swabs, going back to the early beginning” of the pandemic.
“She always wanted to make sure we did the right thing in the fight against COVID,” Moskowitz, also a Democratic former state representative, said in a phone interview. “COVID affects minority communities differently; it affects communities differently between rural and urban, and it affects communities differently based on political differences.
“And Dr. Roberson was an invaluable voice in the room as we were crafting all of the plans to make sure that even the most vulnerable among us got served correctly by the state.”
Florida, where DeSantis has recently inveighed against mask and vaccine mandates as antithetical to personal freedom, accounted for 1 of every 26 COVID-related deaths reported in the world in the week ending last Friday, Johns Hopkins University data shows, with 2,448 deaths. And the state now ranks 10th among states where coronavirus is spreading the fastest per person.
But Florida also reported far fewer coronavirus cases in the week ending Sunday, adding 100,249 new cases – down 22.4% from the previous week’s tally of 129,202 new cases, a USA TODAY Network analysis shows.
Roberson became deputy secretary just before pandemic
Roberson began as Deputy Secretary in November 2019, just a few months before the start of the pandemic. “Throughout her two years as Deputy Secretary, Dr. Roberson oversaw four divisions and two offices totaling 1,500 staff,” Khoury said.
Before ascending to her current post at Health, Roberson was the Health Department’s Director for the Division of Community Health Promotion, according to her official bio.
“She joined the Department as a chronic disease epidemiologist and evaluator where she served for two years as the bureau epidemiologist,” the bio says. “Dr. Roberson was also a section administrator in Chronic Disease Prevention, providing administrative direction and policy coordination for the Bureau.”
Her doctorate is in public health from Florida A&M University, focusing on epidemiology – the control of diseases – and biostatistics. She also received an undergraduate degree from Florida State University, double majoring in Biological Sciences and Family and Child Sciences, and a Masters of Public Health.
In a separate statement, Cassandra Pasley – the department’s chief of staff – said Roberson’s “knowledge and public health expertise is exemplified through her unconditional service to the people of Florida. I have enjoyed working alongside her for the past eight years and wish her the best that life has to give.”
In her statement, Roberson listed several points of pride over her tenure, including overseeing the development of a “telehealth process” in the state’s Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, also known as the WIC program, which “allowed WIC participants to continue receiving benefits.”
She also mentioned “achieving Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) reaccreditation for the state health office and Florida’s 67 county health departments.”
“I want to thank the entire Department, our partners at sister agencies and Gov. DeSantis for the humbling opportunity to serve Floridians in this role,” Roberson said.
Mike Stucka contributed. Reach Jim Rosica at jrosica@tallahassee.com and follow him on Twitter @JimRosicaFL.
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Shamarial Roberson, Florida Deputy Secretary for Health, stepping down