Dr. Mark Kissinger

STEUBENVILLE — A special meeting of various county, city, village and township officials resulted in the appointment of a doctor with a family practice in Wintersville to the Jefferson County Board of Health Thursday.

Dr. Mark Kissinger, doctor of osteopathic medicine, was selected by a five-member committee of the District Advisory Council. The council itself — composed of the president of the Board of County Commissioners, the mayor of every city and village and the chairperson of the each board of township trustees — has as part of its responsibilities the duty of appointing new members to the board.

The appointment comes more than a month after the death Dr. Pat Macedonia, board of health member, which left a seat open on the board. The seat, which needed to be filled by a physician according to Ohio Revised Code Section 3709.03, will now be filled by Kissinger, a former medical director for the Jefferson County General Health District.

“I really appreciate the chance to serve again,” Kissinger said after his appointment. “I was honored to be employed by the board of health as the medical director for years — a great group of people to work with. Dr. Macedonia really mentored me a lot earlier in my career, so I’m sad that I’m filling in his seat but I’m glad (to do so).”

Andrew Henry, health commissioner for the health department, said the department had a “great relationship, professionally” with Kissinger, who worked as the medical director when Henry first started as the health commissioner.

Henry said he is “absolutely” pleased with the outcome, adding, “Just knowing that he’s been in private practice here in Jefferson County and has served the community for so long, … those are the types of good people you like to work with.”

Scott Fabian, president of the Steubenville Township Board of Trustees, said he was pleased with the meeting’s outcome. Fabian, who has been involved with the DAC for about 26 years and was elected its president in March, said, “We have a very good health board. They’re doing a really good job down there, and I think Mark will be a tremendous addition.”

The DAC’s meeting had an uncertain start, with not enough officials being present to form a quorum. According to ORC Section 3709.03, this necessitated the five-member committee be formed to discuss and make the appointment.

Members of the committee included Dave Maple, president of the board of county commissioners; DAC Secretary Pennie Scarpone, Wintersville Village Council member; and Fabian. In addition, the DAC elected Ben Batenburg, chairman of the Wells Township Board of Trustees, and Amsterdam Mayor James Phillips to the committee.

Two individuals had submitted their applications, with one having come a few days after the established deadline last Friday. The DAC voted unanimously to reject the late submission after a brief discussion.

The final decision came quickly, with Maple putting the issue up to vote after only a few moments. He said, “I make a nomination of our sole doctor here. I appreciate him putting his hand in the air. I have full confidence that he’d be a great board member.”

The motion passed unanimously, and Kissinger said later that he is glad to be back, furthering the county’s health. He said that, while he worked for the health department from March 2020 until June 2022, he thought the health board functioned well.

Kissinger, who works for Trinity Health System and operates a family practice in Wintersville, said attributes that qualify him for the position includes “understanding patient care and understanding the challenges that people have.

“I do a lot of preventative care in the office, and, when we look at most of the problems we have in terms of health, — what are people dying from in our area — a lot of these things are preventable or delay-able. So, if we can do things to prevent people from having heart disease, prevent people from having liver failure and diabetes, we’re obviously going to save a lot of money, but we’re going to save a lot of lives as well.”

Kissinger is also a clinical assistant professor of family medicine for the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine, for which he oversees the training of medical students at his office. His training imparts on the shadowing students, “how does medicine function in an office setting.”

Speaking of Dr. Macedonia, Kissinger said, “(He) was a great man. Early in my career I was on several committees with him and his brother (Dr. Dominic Macedonia), and he really showed me the ropes and taught me a lot about medicine. So, I’m honored to be filling in his vacancy, but he’s going to be missed greatly.”

According to the health department’s website, the DAC’s other responsibilities include “receiving and considering the annual or special reports from the board of health and making recommendations to the board of health or to the Ohio Department of Health in regard to matters for the betterment of health and sanitation within the district or for needed legislation.”

The board of health meets in regular session every third Tuesday of each month at 8:15 a.m. in the Jefferson County Tower building’s second-floor community room.