St. Joseph County officially has a new health officer.
County Commissioners this week voted in Dr. Michelle Migliore to the role, marking the final step in the confirmation process.
Migliore is a family doctor from Mishawaka and is currently the vice president of the county health board. Migliore succeeds Dr. Diana Purushotham, who recently moved to Baltimore to follow her husband’s new job.
But Purushotham will still be very involved thanks to an unorthodox arrangement where she will consult remotely for the health department on big-picture, strategic initiatives. Migliore will work an average of 20 hours a week and run the department’s day-to-day operations and the pair will evenly split the $250,000 salary that’s budgeted for the position, according to Migliore's new contract.
Migliore is a Democrat who was first appointed to the county board of health by Republican Mishawaka Mayor Dave Wood in 2018. She narrowly passed the county council in a 5-4 vote last month with Republican Joe Thomas crossing party lines to approve her candidacy.
Now, commissioners are seeking a Democrat to replace Migliore on the county’s health board. Applications for that are due June 25.
