New board picks familiar face

The Clarion-Ledger, 12/6/7

Five years after the state Board of Health tried to force out State Health Officer Dr. Ed Thompson, a new board coaxed him into taking his old job back.

Thompson held the position from 1993 to 2002, when he stepped down to work as a top official for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

In July, the new board – which includes no members from the 2002 board – picked Thompson to take over the job on an interim basis. Thompson agreed but balked at the idea of handling the position permanently.