Dr. Rex Archer, Director of Health, KCMO, continues series on health

Urban Connections series on health and wellness continues with guest Dr. Rex Archer, Director of Health for the City of Kansas City, Missouri, and Past-President of the National Association of County & City Health Officials.

Urban Connections host and producer Donna Morrow Wolfe; co-host and co-producer, Joseph Jackson.

Dr. Rex Archer is currently an executive committee member of the Public Health Accreditation Board, has served on numerous national committees involved with Public Health, and responsible for safeguarding the public health of nearly half a million and a daytime population of almost one million.

Under Dr. Archer’s leadership KCMOHD is one of the first of 19 out of 3,000, state, tribal or local health departments to be nationally accredited; and the first in Region VII Health and Human Services (Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Iowa). KCMOHD is one of the first two city health departments to become nationally accredited; and the first in Region VII Health and Human Services. In addition, KCMO is a winner of the 2015 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Culture of Health Prize.

Prior to his present position in Kansas City, Dr. Archer completed his medical degree with the University of Kansas, his General Preventive Medicine Public Health Residency and Masters in Public Health degree at the University of Michigan and is recognized as a Public Health Leadership Institute Scholar by UCLA/CDC. He has served as Physician in Charge – Employee Health Programs, Ford Motor Company and local and state health positions in Maryland. Dr. Archer has been a primary leader in the adoption of policies to protect non-smokers from tobacco smoke in Maryland, Michigan, Missouri and the Ford Motor Company.

Dr. Archer continues to work with religious/faith-based community organizations to address and improve social and environmental factors that impact public health. He served four years on the United Methodist Church, Missouri Conference Social Justice Team and is a member of Communities Creating Opportunities (CCO) clergy caucus.
Awards and Recognition
As part of his continued efforts of shifting from inadequate medical models to a more effective socio-ecological model in order to improve health and reduce health inequities, he is receiving the 2013 Milton and Ruth Roemer Prize for Creative Local Public Health Work. This is the top award given annually to a local health director by the more than 25,000 public health professionals who are members of the American Public Health Association.

The Missouri Public Health Association recognized Dr. Rex Archer with their highest distinguished service award.

Research America recognized Dr. Rex Archer as a Public Health Hero for his support of smoke-free legislation in Maryland, Michigan and KC, and for increasing cardiac survivability through improvements in the CPR protocol for Kansas City.

Metropolitan Organization for Racial and Economic Equity (MORE2) recognized Dr. Archer as 2012 Equity Partner of the Year.

Communities Creating Opportunity will recognize Dr. Archer as the 2015 Soul of the City Award recipient.

THE KCMOHD received over two dozen national awards for innovative model programs and practices and as an academic health department (similar to teaching hospitals) the KCMOHD has over 70 publications. In addition, KCMOHD staff also received over two dozen national, regional and statewide awards recognizing the professional dedication, compassion and accomplishments of individuals in the department.


Share This Episode