Wayne State University School of Medicine alumnus William Nettleton, M.D. '12, was named the medical director of Kalamazoo County's Department of Health and Community Services, effective Jan. 3.

As part of a regional partnership between Kalamazoo County, the Calhoun County Department of Public Health and the Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine, Dr. Nettleton will split time between the three organizations. He will also see patients and teach as an assistant professor of Family and Community Medicine at the medical school.

Dr. Nettleton will be responsible for medical supervision and oversight of medical policies, procedures and protocol, and on call 24 hours to help in emergency or outbreak situations. He also plans to collaborate with the area's community members to address preventable conditions while working toward eliminating health inequities that hinder county residents from achieving optimal health, including addressing racial disparities in infant deaths.

Dr. Nettleton started the Preventative Medicine Action Group in his second year of medical school while at WSU to increase student awareness of the specialty.

"The sense of community and partnership attracted me, as a prospective public health physician, back to west Michigan," he said in a news release. "In this new role, I hope to serve as a bridge between the fields of public health and medicine."

The Kalamazoo resident completed his Family Medicine residency with Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, Ore.

He is board certified in Family Medicine and Preventive Medicine and Public Health.

(Photo courtesy of Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine)