From the opioid epidemic to health issues stemming from Hurricane Helene, Health and Human Services (HHS) covers a diverse and comprehensive range of public needs. With more than 30 years of experience in the field of public health, Buncombe County is proud to announce David Sweat as its next Director of HHS. Coming to the County from his position as Mecklenburg County’s COVID Response Unit Director, David brings knowledge and a unique skillset having worked in epidemiology, HIV awareness, food-borne illness, and more. “David’s experience and tenure at large health departments in North Carolina and Tennessee demonstrate his ability to work with a diverse group of employees and provide them with the support they need to be successful,” says Assistant County Manager Sybil Tate. “David also impressed the interview panel with his focus on prioritizing equity in service delivery.”
A vital position for Buncombe County, the HHS Director sets and leads the vision for our largest department that focuses on crucial services such as health, economic services, and social work. “As demonstrated by the HHS response during Helene, this department has touched so many residents. For example, HHS has been responsible for sheltering, feeding, food and lodging support, and DSNAP delivery after Helene. During normal operations, integrating HHS services and collaborating with other departments to better serve our residents is core to our long-term vision,” notes Sybil.
David says he’s excited about shifting from a singular focus to working with a broader range of health and human services. “During my time in Memphis, I was over public health emergency preparedness programs, a variety of infectious disease programs, and became involved with designing a public health response to the opioid epidemic and helping people involved with recovery from substance use disorders,” explains David. “I was looking for an opportunity to help a community address these and other challenges at the same time Buncombe County was searching for a new Director of Health and Human Services.” He says his short-term goals will immediately be focused on continued recovery efforts stemming from Hurricane Helene while balancing the need to maintain routine programs and services. “In the long term, we want the agencies within the HHS portfolio to work together in an integrated way to promote the health and wellbeing of all Buncombe County residents. Whether that involves disease prevention, health promotion, emergency assistance, economic support, mental health services, community paramedicine, or social work services, we want to make sure these programs are working optimally,” says David.
With HHS touching so many aspects of the lives of people in the community, it was important the new director bring a vast array of skills to Buncombe County. “People are often not aware of all the things that HHS programs do on a daily basis, but everything these services are working on are intended to give the community the conditions necessary for people to thrive,” notes David. “The work is essential to stopping disease outbreaks from happening, to helping moms who are pregnant be as healthy as they can be so their babies can start life in the best possible way. The work our agencies do is often about preventing problems in the first place, and then responding effectively and compassionately when things go wrong. My intention is to help our people have the resources and training they need to be successful in those efforts.” David’s first day is Monday, Nov. 4.
David Sweat professional bio
David Sweat graduated from Baylor University with a BA in 1986, a Master of Divinity degree from Duke University Divinity School in 1989, and a Master of Public Health from the UNC School of Public Health in Chapel Hill in 1993. He started his public health career in 1990 working in HIV and AIDS education efforts at the CDC National HIV and AIDS Hotline in Research Triangle Park.
After graduating from UNC, David moved to Austin, TX and worked for the Texas Department of Health as a field epidemiologist doing surveillance and investigations of respiratory and enteric diseases. Returning to North Carolina in 2000, he started work as a research epidemiologist for UNC Center for Public Health Preparedness and as a subject matter expert in foodborne illnesses with NC DHHS, among other things.
In January 2013, David accepted a position as the Chief of Epidemiology for the Shelby County Health Department in Memphis TN, where he eventually became a Deputy Health Director as well. In March 2020, he became the incident commander for the COVID pandemic response in Memphis, and then in July 2021 returned to NC to become the Director of the COVID Response Unit with Mecklenburg County, in Charlotte.