Joel Tate named assistant Health Officer for the Mobile County Health Department

Mobile County Health Department's Joel Tate

MOBILE, Ala. -- Joel Tate has been named Assistant Health Officer for the 500-employee Mobile CountyHealth Department, Dr. Bernard H. Eichold II, MCHD’s Health Officer, announced this week.

Tate joined the Mobile County Health Department three years ago as Director of Program Services. He has 36 years of experience in health care and 27 as a hospital president and chief executive officer. Tate also is a Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives.

“I’m looking forward to working more with our staff as we focus on the strategic planning process and our organizational effectiveness,” Tate said. “It’s vital that we continue to seek innovative ways to more effectively promote and protect public health in our community.”

Tate serves on the Board of School Commissioners in Satsuma and is a graduate of the 2013 class of Leadership Mobile. He earned a Master of Business Administration from Oklahoma City University and a bachelor’s degree in hospital administration from Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee, Okla.

“The Board of Health decided to fill the position as we work to move the Health Department’s strategic plan forward,” Eichold said.  In 2013, MCHD updated its logo to reflect a more modern approach to public health. “Tate has made a commitment to serve the agency for at least five years, which offers us additional stability moving forward.”

Born in Selma, Ala., Tate later moved to the Mobile area. He graduated from Satsuma High School. He served as a hospital administrator and CEO in Oklahoma and then in Jasper, Ala., before returning to Mobile in 2011. He and his wife, Lenore, live in Satsuma. They have three adult children.

Since 1816, the Mobile County Health Department and its staff have worked to promote and protect the health of those who live and work in Mobile County.  For more than a decade, MCHD has been continuously accredited by the Joint Commission and was the first public health agency in Alabama with this designation. In 2013, MCHD received its initial designation as a Primary Care Medical Home by the Joint Commission.