Dr. Elizabeth Char was sworn in as Director of Health after unanimous confirmation by the Hawaii State Senate Tuesday morning.

“Mahalo to Governor Ige and the members of the Senate for their confidence in my leadership of the Department of Health,” said Char after her confirmation. “I’m honored to be leading DOH with our team of 2,500 dedicated, passionate, and skilled individuals. Throughout the past year, this team has spearheaded a science-based, rational approach to save lives and help Hawaii navigate through the pandemic. Looking forward, we must seek new opportunities and seize them when they arise to take lessons learned from COVID-19 to benefit our state’s recovery from the pandemic and beyond. I look forward to continuing our work to create a more robust and stable Department that is well-positioned for the challenges of the future.”

Char has served as interim director of the DOH since September after the retirement of then director Bruce Anderson.