Top deputy in state health department named commissioner of Lexington health department

Kraig Humbaugh

Dr. Kraig Humbaugh, senior deputy commissioner of the Kentucky Department for Public Health, has been named the Lexington-Fayette County commissioner of health, starting in June. He will replace Dr. Rice C. Leach, who died April 1 following a battle with cancer.

“I am honored to serve and look forward to working with the Board of Health, the hard-working team at the health department and the community to make Lexington a healthier place to live, work and visit,” Humbaugh said in a news release. “It’s important that we build on Dr. Leach’s legacy and the already strong foundation that the health department has in the community.”

A pediatrician by training, Humbaugh has extensive experience in public health, including epidemiology of communicable diseases and emergency preparedness and response.

“We are very excited to have Dr. Humbaugh join us as the next commissioner of health,” Paula Anderson, chair of the Lexington-Fayette County Board of Health, said in the release. “In addition to his exceptional background in public health, he has widespread leadership experience on the state level. He also knows Kentucky and has worked closely with the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department on many previous projects. All of those attributes made him the right choice to lead our health department.”

Humbaugh earned his undergraduate degree from Vanderbilt University and his medical degree from Yale University. He was a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Otago in New Zealand and received a Master of Public Health degree from Johns Hopkins University.