State Health Commissioner Dr. Kris Box, left, talks about her departure Friday May 12, 2023. Dr. Lindsay Weaver, right, will take over the role June 1.
Marissa Meador | Indiana Capital Chronicle
State Health Commissioner Dr. Kris Box took a retirement lap Friday, announcing her departure and saying she has no regrets about the state’s response to COVID-19 or vaccine rollout.
Box guided Hoosiers through the pandemic, featuring in near-daily press conferences for months. She will retire at the end of the month after nearly six years of service.
“Time will show that the state of Indiana really did our response in a very moderate way and that we balanced very well protecting lives and livelihoods and the economy of the state of Indiana,” she said.
Ultimately, Box decided to retire because the demands of the job — working 12 hours a day and seven days a week at times — made her have to say no to her family a lot, she said.
“I really want to not have to ever put them second again,” she said.
Gov. Eric Holcomb thanked Box for her tenure, saying her retirement discussions started nearly a year ago but she agreed to stay in order to push several health care measures through the General Assembly, specifically securing the state’s $225 million two-year investment into public health.
“I respect no one more and am so pleased she’ll get to enjoy her next chapter, which is focusing on her family. I could not have had a better partner in this role, especially in this time. She genuinely cares about the health and well-being of every single Hoosier, and because of her dedication to the betterment of our overall public health system, the state is at the forefront of transformational change that will result in a healthier Indiana,” Holcomb said. “… Her competitive refusal to lose is a key reason why our state will win for years to come.”
More than COVID-19
Besides spearheading the state’s pandemic response, Box oversaw implementation of the My Healthy Baby plan and worked to prevent lead poisoning in children by increasing access to screenings.
With decades of experience as an OB-GYN, Box said she entered the state health commissioner role with a focus on disparities in maternal and child health, but quickly saw how gaps existed for nearly every health metric. She said these disparities exist not just when it comes to race and ethnicity, but also affect rural, urban and suburban divides, socioeconomic status and people with disabilities.
In a press conference Friday, Box said she and her team had built a foundation to solve health disparities and allow Hoosiers to receive the same core health services regardless of where they are in the state.
“I think that your world really expands to understand that public health is about making sure not just that there is someone to give you a prescription for your disease, but a way to make sure you can fill that prescription,” she said.
Box said Indiana, like other states across the country, is losing doctors, particularly obstetrical providers. Indiana will need to plan to meet that challenge, she said, as well as learning how to be proactive with future needs.
Box said the transition between her administration and the next would be seamless, saying her team had been “forged” by the pandemic.
As Dr. Box navigated the pandemic, she ended up testing positive for the virus in Oct. 2020, and again in Jan. 2022. Dr. Box wasn’t afraid, she said, and expected it would eventually happen as she continued to come into work while others got the opportunity to stay home.
“The important thing for me was to not expose other individuals,” she said.
As for what she plans to do after retirement, Box said she would do more gardening, traveling and hiking. She said she plans to stay in touch with her team, saying they are not just colleagues, but friends.
“I’d love to read something besides a report or the next public health thing that’s coming out,” she said.
Weaver takes over
The new state health commissioner will be Dr. Lindsay Weaver, current chief medical officer of the Indiana Department of Health. She will officially assume the role June 1.
Weaver was instrumental in developing a statewide lab testing network and distributing COVID-19 vaccines while she was chief medical officer, according to a press release. She is also an assistant professor of clinical emergency medicine at the Indiana University School of Medicine and practices medicine at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis. She chairs the Indiana Commission for Women, which is a government organization that works to recognize the contributions of women across the state and advocates for the removal of legal and social barriers to women.
Weaver said at the press conference she would continue the legacy of Box’s administration and that there would be no big changes at IDOH.
Still, Weaver emphasized the importance of focusing on prevention when it comes to public health.
“Really just want to expand upon the partnerships that we’ve already grown over the last several years and now we have the funding and the means and the momentum to do so much more,” she said.
By Marissa Meador. The Indiana Capital Chronicle is an independent, not-for-profit news organization that covers state government, policy and elections.
