In case you are watching early filings for the January legislative session, I wanted to let you know the #HealthierMO Professional Organizations became aware last week of the early filing of Senate Bill 177 on December 13th by Senator Lincoln Hough of Springfield. The bill proposes establishing a set of minimum education and experience qualifications for the Director of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services and local public health agency administrators. The Professional Organizations agreed during discussion at their December meeting that a strong public health system requires a state health department director with public health education and experience. The bill is expected to be revised before Missouri’s legislative session begins on January 1, 2019. We’ll keep you posted on further developments.