Baltimore City’s health commissioner, just a few months into the job, was fired by Mayor Brandon Scott on Monday. The mayor’s office announced the news in a brief statement in the evening, without providing any additional information about the situation.
Dr. Ihouma Emenuga assumed the role of Baltimore City Health Commissioner in March after Governor Scott appointed her to the position in December.
Before joining the city’s health department, Emenuga worked in five countries around the world, beginning his career as a family physician in Côte d’Ivoire.
Prior to his promotion to commissioner, Emenuga worked in the Health Department’s Division of Adolescent Health and Community Health, overseeing clinical services in schools. He also served as managing partner of Vie Health, a health care consulting firm, and previously served as medical director for Chase Brexton Health Care and chief medical officer for Park West Health System and Family Health Centers in Baltimore.
Mayor Scott said in a statement that Deputy City Manager Simone Johnson will temporarily join the Baltimore City Health Department as interim director. Johnson has more than 20 years of local and state government experience, having previously served as chief of staff and chief operating officer for the Health Department, as well as chief of staff for the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development and the Maryland Department of Transportation.
The Scott Administration is in the process of selecting the next Health Commissioner nationwide.
The mayor’s announcement comes just two months after Baltimore’s former Health Commissioner Leticia Djirassa resigned as mayor and left city government. Djirassa served as the city’s interim deputy mayor for equity, health and human services before being appointed health commissioner in 2019 and leading the city through much of the COVID-19 pandemic.
