Mark Pyle, Christian County health director, is named state's deputy commissioner of public health

Mark Pyle

The director of the Christian County Health Department in Hopkinsville will be the new deputy commissioner of the state Department for Public Health.

Mark Pyle will serve as the state's chief liaison with Kentucky's 63 district, county and independent health departments. The job was briefly held by Randy Gooch, who returned to his old job as health director in Jessamine County, saying it suited him better.

Pyle has headed the Christian County department for nine years, and led it to national accreditation. "Although national accreditation was a crowning achievement, it was not the most important," he told the Kentucky New Era. "The most important achievements were the development of community partnerships, implementing evidence based/population based health programs and forming a culture of above-the-line performance."