Dr. Rex Archer – the face of Kansas City’s handling of the COVID-19 crisis and the City of Kansas City Health Department director for 23 years – announced his retirement on Tuesday.Dr. Archer said he will officially step away on Aug. 1. He said he originally planned to retire in December 2020, but he could not leave because of the pandemic.Dr. Archer has been the director of the City of Kansas City Health Department since August 1998, but he became a central figure in KCMO’s battle to contain COVID-19 after the pandemic forced the city into lockdowns and mask requirements last year.”Thank you, Dr. Rex Archer for your leadership and decades of service to Kansas Citians,” Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said.Any time there was a major announcement concerning COVID-19 and the city’s response, Dr. Archer spoke about the medical reasoning behind the decisions. Two months ago, Dr. Archer also spoke out about how KCMO was not receiving its fair share of COVID-19 vaccine, and then as more doses arrived, he pushed for more Kansas Citians to get vaccinated and avoid hesitancy.“Not everyone has the opportunity to come back to the city in which they grew up to serve,” Dr. Archer said. “I wouldn’t trade these past 23 years for anything. But I need to make clear that nothing improves in public health through one individual. It’s the entire team; it’s the Health Department; it’s our elected officials, media and other partners. When we decide to work together we can make a difference.”Under Dr. Archer’s leadership, the City of Kansas City Health Department was one of the first of 19 out of 3,000, state, tribal or local health departments to be nationally accredited. KCMOHD was also one of the first two city health departments to become nationally accredited.“Throughout his 23 years of service to Kansas Citians as Director of Public Health, Dr. Rex Archer has built a Health Department all Kansas Citians can be proud of — a Department that has prioritized equitable healthcare delivery to all communities in Kansas City and has prioritized wrap-around services as part of its fundamental mission,” Lucas said.“In expanding the scope of the Kansas City Health Department over the past several decades, Dr. Archer and his team have focused on delivery of proper mental health services to help combat violent crime; have worked to ensure every Kansas City family has access to healthy meals; have launched a Healthy Homes program to help ensure all, regardless of socioeconomic status, may live in sanitary homes; and have continued to deliver testing, vaccines, and other vital means of healthcare to Kansas Citians who do not have an established relationship with a primary care physician.” Before starting in the role with KCMO, Dr. Archer completed his medical degree with the University of Kansas, served a general preventive medicine public health residency and master’s in public health degree at the University of Michigan. Dr. Archer also worked as a physician in charge of employee health programs at Ford Motor Co. and held local and state health positions in Maryland. Dr. Archer has also been a primary leader in the adoption of policies to protect non-smokers from tobacco smoke in Maryland, Michigan, Missouri and the Ford Motor Co.
Dr. Rex Archer – the face of Kansas City’s handling of the COVID-19 crisis and the City of Kansas City Health Department director for 23 years – announced his retirement on Tuesday.
Dr. Archer said he will officially step away on Aug. 1. He said he originally planned to retire in December 2020, but he could not leave because of the pandemic.
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Dr. Archer has been the director of the City of Kansas City Health Department since August 1998, but he became a central figure in KCMO’s battle to contain COVID-19 after the pandemic forced the city into lockdowns and mask requirements last year.
“Thank you, Dr. Rex Archer for your leadership and decades of service to Kansas Citians,” Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said.
Any time there was a major announcement concerning COVID-19 and the city’s response, Dr. Archer spoke about the medical reasoning behind the decisions. Two months ago, Dr. Archer also spoke out about how KCMO was not receiving its fair share of COVID-19 vaccine, and then as more doses arrived, he pushed for more Kansas Citians to get vaccinated and avoid hesitancy.
“Not everyone has the opportunity to come back to the city in which they grew up to serve,” Dr. Archer said. “I wouldn’t trade these past 23 years for anything. But I need to make clear that nothing improves in public health through one individual. It’s the entire team; it’s the Health Department; it’s our elected officials, media and other partners. When we decide to work together we can make a difference.”
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Under Dr. Archer’s leadership, the City of Kansas City Health Department was one of the first of 19 out of 3,000, state, tribal or local health departments to be nationally accredited. KCMOHD was also one of the first two city health departments to become nationally accredited.
“Throughout his 23 years of service to Kansas Citians as Director of Public Health, Dr. Rex Archer has built a Health Department all Kansas Citians can be proud of — a Department that has prioritized equitable healthcare delivery to all communities in Kansas City and has prioritized wrap-around services as part of its fundamental mission,” Lucas said.
“In expanding the scope of the Kansas City Health Department over the past several decades, Dr. Archer and his team have focused on delivery of proper mental health services to help combat violent crime; have worked to ensure every Kansas City family has access to healthy meals; have launched a Healthy Homes program to help ensure all, regardless of socioeconomic status, may live in sanitary homes; and have continued to deliver testing, vaccines, and other vital means of healthcare to Kansas Citians who do not have an established relationship with a primary care physician.”
Before starting in the role with KCMO, Dr. Archer completed his medical degree with the University of Kansas, served a general preventive medicine public health residency and master’s in public health degree at the University of Michigan.
Dr. Archer also worked as a physician in charge of employee health programs at Ford Motor Co. and held local and state health positions in Maryland.
Dr. Archer has also been a primary leader in the adoption of policies to protect non-smokers from tobacco smoke in Maryland, Michigan, Missouri and the Ford Motor Co.