Local health departments

Va. Code Ann. § 32.1-30

in effect

Each county and city shall establish and maintain a local department of health that shall be headed by a local health director. Each such local health director shall (i) be a physician licensed to practice medicine in the Commonwealth, (ii) possess a master's or doctoral degree in the area of public health and have at least three years of professional experience in a full-time position in either a public health agency or public health-related position, or (iii) be otherwise qualified for the position as determined by the Commissioner. If a local health director is not a physician licensed to practice medicine and there is no licensed physician on staff, the local health director shall enter into a consulting agreement with a licensed physician to execute prescribing duties, consult on clinical matters, and perform all other duties as requested. 1979, c. 711; 2022, c. 804 .

Source: Open US Law by Vaquill AI (CC BY 4.0)URL: https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/32.1-30/Fetched: 10/16/2026