The Tarrant County Commissioners Court has appointed Dr. Brian Byrd as the county’s public health director.
Byrd, 53, is a former member of the Fort Worth City Council and a practicing physician who founded and served as CEO of Texas Family Medicine and currently serves as medical director for Palm Primary Care.
“Brian Byrd is an inspired choice for the new director of public health for Tarrant County,” Precinct 1 Commissioner Roy Charles Brooks said in a news release. “He’s got the requisite knowledge about the community and the confidence of the people of Tarrant County to lead that department to its next level of excellence. I thank Dr. Byrd for being willing to step up and make himself available for this next great task ahead of him.”
Precinct 4 Commissioner Manny Ramirez said Byrd “has the technical knowledge, the executive leadership experience, and a proven track-record that I know will add tremendous value to the Tarrant County Public Health Department … I am confident that Dr. Byrd will help create the world-class health department that our communities deserve.”
As District 3 representative on the city council, Byrd was instrumental in coordinating resources to the Las Vegas Trail area and in creation of the new Como Community Center. Byrd helped orchestrate the involvement of local organizations, including Cook Children’s Health Care System and JPS Health Network, who are building a new Las Vegas Trail Neighborhood Health Center.
Byrd said he wants Tarrant County “to have the best public health department on all fronts,” one that “leads with compassion and data while improving the health outcomes of all Tarrant County residents.”
Byrd will begin his tenure as public health director on July 1.
