December 31, 2020 – Beginning January 1, 2021, Dr. Scott Kellermann will be joining the County of Nevada as Public Health Officer. While Dr. Kellermann will begin his role as Public Health Officer on the first, his contract will formally come before the Nevada County Board of Supervisors at their January 12th meeting to officially appoint him to the vital public health role.
Dr. Kellermann received his medical degree from Tulane University School of Medicine with a Master’s in Public Health and Master’s in Tropical Medicine. He was an intern at USC/LA County Hospital and a Family Practice resident at UCLA. Currently, Dr. Kellermann is an adjunct professor at the University of San Francisco and an assistant clinical professor at California Northstate University College of Medicine in Elk Grove, California. He is a Senior Consultant for the Centers for Research in Emerging Infectious Diseases (CREID), through the National Institute of Health and UC Davis. CREID research will attempt to identify novel viruses and prevent future pandemics.
“I look forward to engaging in public health in Nevada County, particularly with an immunization campaign to end the current COVID-19 pandemic,” said incoming Public Health Officer Dr. Kellermann. “I look forward to giving back to Nevada County the kindness and generosity that has been shown to me.”
“We are extremely grateful to Dr. Richard Johnson who has served with us as our Interim Health Officer since June. His experience as a local Health Officer and his vast experience in emergency preparedness and response served our community very well,” said Nevada County Public Health Director Jill Blake. “Dr. Kellermann’s deep community roots and breadth of experience as an MD will also serve us well. We look forward to this next chapter bringing Dr. Kellermann on as our Health Officer alongside Deputy Health Officer Dr. Glennah Trochet as we work to provide a safe and equitable COVID vaccination process to Nevada County residents.”
About Dr. Kellermann
After practicing medicine in Nepal for 2 ½ years, Dr. Kellarmann moved with his family to practice medicine in Nevada County. He thoroughly enjoyed his two decades of Family Medicine on Zion Street in Nevada City. He was Chief-of-Staff at Sierra Nevada Hospital and served two terms on the Sierra Nevada Hospital Board. In 1987, he and Drs. Chargin and Dawkins purchased Miners Hospital on Zion Street converting it into an outpatient facility to medically assist those less fortunate. It has subsequently grown into the Western Sierra Clinic, the largest provider of medical care in Nevada County.
In 2001, he and his wife Carol relocated to the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest of Uganda to work with the Batwa pygmies. Over the next decade, he founded the 175 bed Bwindi Community Hospital, which is ranked one of the finest hospitals in East Africa. He also founded the Uganda Nursing School-Bwindi, with a current enrolment of 400 nursing students, recognized as one of the leading nursing schools in Uganda. He founded the Batwa Development Program, with a focus on educating Batwa children. The Batwa Development Program is overseen by the Batwa and is helping extricate them from their cycle of poverty. The Kellermann Foundation was initiated by Nevada County residents to support the work at the Bwindi. These projects would not have been possible without the assistance of the citizens of Nevada County.
Dr. Kellermann has written chapters for medical textbooks and has published multiple articles in medical journals regarding diseases of the tropics. He has been honored with: Rotary’s Service above Self Award, New York University’s – Excellence in Public Health Award, American Medical Association’s – Excellence in Medicine, Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine- Outstanding Alumni and the Wisdom in Action’s Unsung Hero of Compassion Award presented by the Dali Lama. In 2017-2018 he was a Fulbright Scholar teaching tropical medicine in Africa.