Local physician appointed as new Smith County Health Authority

SMITH COUNTY – Smith County now has a new local health authority. Dr. Valerie B. Smith was appointed by the commissioner’s court on Tuesday and sworn in by County Judge Neal Franklin. She replaces Dr. Paul McGaha after his retirement. Smith is assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Texas at Tyler School of Medicine. She has served the children of East Texas for nearly two decades as a pediatrician at St. Paul’s Children’s Foundation. Smith got her degree from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School and did her pediatric residency at Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock. She got her master of public health from the UT Science Center School of Community and Rural Health. She was recommended to the commissioners court by the NET Health Board of Directors. Health Authorities are “physicians appointed to administer state and local laws relating to public health within an appointing body’s jurisdiction,” according to the Texas Department of State Health Services.