FORA.tv Speaker - Eduardo J. Sanchez

Eduardo J. Sanchez, M.D., M.P.H.., is Commissioner of the new Texas Department of State Health Services. As Commissioner and Chief Health Officer for the State of Texas, Dr. Sanchez oversees programs such as mental health, substance abuse prevention, and treatment programs, disease prevention and bioterrorism preparedness programs, family and community health services programs, and environmental and consumer safety and regulatory programs. The Texas Department of State Health Services combines the former Texas Department of Health, the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, Texas Health Care Information Council, and the mental health component of the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation. Dr. Sanchez became Commissioner of Health on November 5, 2001. He is a board-certified family practice physician, actively practicing in Austin from 1992-2001. Dr. Sanchez also served as Health Authority and Chief Medical Officer for the Austin-Travis County Health and Human Services Department from 1994 to 1998. Dr. Sanchez received a M.D. in 1988 from the Southwestern Medical School in Dallas and holds a M.P.H. from the University of Texas Health Science Center Houston-School of Public Health, San Antonio Branch, and a M.S. in biomedical engineering from Duke University. He has bachelor's degrees in biomedical engineering and chemistry from Boston University. Dr. Sanchez grew up in Corpus Christi where he graduated from Mary Carroll High School.