SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) – Public health in Coastal Georgia has a new leader. Bonzo Reddick, MD. has been named health director of the 8-county Coastal Health District, becoming the first African American to fill the position.
“I’m really excited for the opportunity to join and lead the fantastic team of people who comprise the Coastal Health District,” said Dr. Reddick. “There are so many programs and services within the district that are critical to maintaining the health of the people in our region. That includes our environmental health services, which strive to help our communities maintain a healthy infrastructure with safe food, clean well water, and so much more.”
Dr. Reddick is no stranger to the community health needs of the coastal area. For the past 5
years, he led an outpatient practice at the J.C. Lewis Primary Health Care Center in
Savannah, served on the Health Equity Council for the Georgia Department of Public Health
and was on the medical advisory committees for the Savannah public school system and for the
Mayor’s Office during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Other merits include being named Top Family Physician in Savannah by South Magazine in 2016 and 2019, being named the Family Physician of the Year by the Georgia Academy of Family
Physicians for 2021, publishing numerous articles in scientific and medical journals and he recently finished authoring a book on achieving health equity.
“I think that the events of the last few years have led to a renewed focus on health equity in the public health community in the Coastal District and throughout the state of Georgia.” said Dr. Reddick.
He continued, “To achieve and sustain Health Equity, we need to put aside the political differences that are so often highlighted in society, and instead focus on shared/common goals. I think that a goal everyone shares is to create opportunities for our community to attain optimal health, which is something we can achieve using a Health Equity lens. There are many proven, evidence-based approaches to improving the health of populations that the Department of Public Health, local healthcare providers, and community partners are implementing.”
Dr. Reddick will lead the Coastal Health District from offices in Savannah and Brunswick,
overseeing all district and county public health programs in Bryan, Camden, Chatham,
Effingham, Glynn, Liberty, Long, and McIntosh Counties.
Dr. Reddick says that his short-term goal is to travel around to the 8 counties in the Coastal District and get to know the team, stakeholders, residents, and members of the Boards of Health.
“By doing so I can learn about the unique aspects and strengths of each community and also learn about opportunities to address the most pressing issues for those counties.”
Dr. Reddick received his B.S. degree from Morehouse College and his medical degree from
Morehouse School of Medicine.
After graduating from medical school in 2002, he attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he completed a family medicine residency, two faculty development fellowships, and a master’s degree in public health.
After graduating from residency in 2005, he practiced full-spectrum family medicine, including
delivering babies and inpatient medicine, for 17 years.