Dr. Brianna da Silva Bhatia joined Clark County Public Health as deputy health officer in February 2025

VANCOUVER – The Clark County Board of Health this week voted unanimously to appoint Dr. Brianna da Silva Bhatia as interim Health Officer for the county.

Dr. Brianna da Silva Bhatia joined Clark County Public Health as deputy health officer in February 2025. She is a practicing and board-certified internal medicine physician.

Dr. da Silva Bhatia received her Doctor of Medicine degree from Aureus University School of Medicine in Aruba. While pursuing her degree, Dr. da Silva Bhatia had the opportunity to travel and split her educational time between island and international communities and diverse health care systems in the United States. She completed residency in internal medicine in Pennsylvania.

Dr. da Silva Bhatia completed her Master of Public Health degree from the University of Washington School of Public Health with a focus on health systems and population health.

Dr. da Silva Bhatia sees the role of Health Officer as, “Giving a voice to Public Health and the public and promoting partnership within the community.”

Dr. Alan Melnick retires

The board appointed Dr. da Silva Bhatia to replace Dr. Alan Melnick who retired from the county on Aug. 25, after more than 20 years of service to the community. He served as the county’s Health Officer and Director of Public Health.

“On behalf of the Clark County Board of Health, I thank Dr. Melnick for his service to the county,” said Council Chair Sue Marshall. “He saw our community through some difficult times including the COVID pandemic and measles outbreaks. We wish him the best in his retirement.”

The Board of Health, in partnership with the Public Health Advisory Council, will begin discussions on the process for appointing the permanent Health Officer.

Information provided by Clark Co. WA Communications.