Harold Kirbey
Director, Missouri, Division of Community and Public Health
Harold has served as the Director for the Division of Community and Public Health, in the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (MDHSS), since January 2011. Prior to this position, he was the Deputy Director for the Division of Community and Public Health from 2006-2011. Since 2006, Harold has served as the department’s Co-Commander and Commander during emergency events. In that role he staffed the Emergency Support Functions (ESF) 8 operations in the State Emergency Operations Center during multiple localized and statewide emergency events. From 1996 to 2006, Harold served as the Chief of the Missouri Primary Care Office and Office of Rural Health. Responsibilities of this position included coordinator and developer of statewide recruitment and retention programs including the Primary Care Resource Initiative for Missouri (PRIMO), Missouri Professional and Practical Nursing Student Loan and Loan Repayment Programs, and the Missouri Health Professional Student Loan Repayment Program. Harold participated in the implementation of federal programs in Missouri, including the Rural Access to Emergency Devices program, the Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Program, and the Small Rural Hospital Improvement Program. Harold had primary oversight of the Health Professional Shortage Area Designation (HPSA) systems for the state of Missouri from 1988 until 2006. He was also the manager of the MDHSS team that developed the Missouri Information for Community Assessment (MICA) system and the Community Profiles available on the MDHSS website.
