Overview: Dr. Sharon Wang has been appointed as the new county health officer for San Bernardino County, California. She has a background in internal medicine and infectious diseases and has been instrumental in developing public health initiatives and strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her priorities as health officer include lowering the rates of syphilis, HIV, and tuberculosis in the county, continuing to educate patients and physicians, and strengthening public health’s relationship with all 17 acute care hospitals in the county.
Breanna Reeves
San Bernardino County welcomed Dr. Sharon Wang as the new county health officer ahead of the start of the new year.
Dr. Wang actually stepped into her role on Nov. 21, after the Board of Supervisors appointed her last month. Prior to becoming the new county health officer, Dr. Wang served as the deputy county health officer.
Prior to accepting the role of deputy county health officer, Dr. Wang worked at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center (ARMC) and became an expert in infectious diseases. She used this expertise during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. As the deputy health officer, she worked to develop public health initiatives and strategies. During this time, Dr. Wang also interacted and communicated with the public, hospital administrations and provided guidance for COVID-19 testing and vaccines.
As a dual board-certified internal medicine and infectious diseases doctor, Dr. Wang was the only infectious diseases doctor in the county who worked in a county hospital during the pandemic.
“I was the source of that trusted information. That’s when I realized [with] keeping the communities safe, public health plays such a big part, such an integral part of keeping the community safe and being that anchor that holds everybody together. I wanted to do more,” Dr. Wang said.
Now, Dr. Wang will be able to do more as the county health officer, and as a practicing infectious disease doctor as she plans to continue to provide direct patient care.
“Being an infectious disease doctor at heart, I will continue to provide direct patient care as this will give me insight into the problems our patients face and the obstacles within our healthcare system,” Wang said. Her dedication to patient care led her to start an easy access clinic one year ago where she spends part of the week addressing sexually transmitted infections (STI) and tuberculosis infections.
As the county health officer, Dr. Wang has priorities for the region. Her number one priority is to continue to lower the rates of syphilis, HIV and tuberculosis in the county. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), San Bernardino County has some of the highest STI rates in the nation, including syphilis rates. But in recent years, syphilis cases have dropped in the county, with congenital syphilis cases dropping by 45% since 2021. To address these high rates, the county has employed new strategies such as Wellness on Wheels (WOW), a mobile clinic that offers free HIV and syphilis rapid testing, treatment and health education services.
Dr. Wang also hopes to continue to be an educator, to both her patients and physicians. She conducts talks for physicians and advanced practice providers such as nurse practitioners and physician assistants, updating them on the latest recommendations on diagnosis and treatment for old and emerging infections.
Her third priority is to continue to strengthen public health’s relationship with the leadership at all 17 acute care hospitals within the county. Dr. Wang hopes to become well-versed with the ins and outs of each hospital and learn what the needs are for each hospital.
“We are thrilled to have Dr. Wang join our team as the health officer,” stated Board of Supervisors Chairman and Third District Supervisor Dawn Rowe in an announcement. “Her extensive background in public health and infectious diseases will be invaluable as we continue to address the health needs of our community.”
While Dr. Wang has her own goals for the county as the health officer, she recognized the “amazing work” that former health officer Dr. Michael Sequeira did during his tenure such as combating the opiate epidemic and advancing public awareness campaigns. Dr. Wang said she hopes to fill his shoes and continue to build partnerships with community organizations and local governments.
As Dr. Wang talked about her priorities and plans for the county, her excitement was apparent as she compared herself to being a helpful Honda car salesperson.
“I feel like I just have that, ‘How can I help you? How can I make you better today?’ energy” Dr. Wang said.
Although dedicated to her work, Dr. Wang said she values the work-life balance as she enjoys traveling and being a mom of two.
Dr. Wang graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, and completed her training in Dietetics at Yale New Haven Hospital. She earned her Doctor of Osteopathy (DO) degree from Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona. While becoming a DO, she simultaneously completed her master’s degree in health education. Following her medical training, Dr. Wang completed an internal medicine residency and an infectious diseases fellowship at the University of California, Davis.