Cara Christ, Interim Director

Cara-Christ

Cara M. Christ, M.D., M.S. became Director for the Arizona Department of Health Services in May 2015. Dr. Christ has served the agency for more than nine years. Among her many accomplishments at ADHS, Dr. Christ collaborated with health partners and stakeholders to develop strategic plans for infectious disease prevention and control including the Governor’s Council on Infectious Disease Preparedness and Response.

She led the statewide response to the opioid epidemic in Arizona, including developing and implementing the statewide system for real-time data reporting of overdoses and coordinating with law enforcement and the EMS system to launch naloxone training for first responders. Dr. Christ previously led Arizona’s successful responses to the 2009 H1N1 Pandemic Influenza, 2014 West Africa Ebola Outbreak, 2015 and 2016 Measles Outbreaks.

Dr. Christ obtained her master's degree in microbiology with an emphasis in molecular virology and public health. She earned her Doctor of Medicine from the University of Arizona College of Medicine.