Gov. Holcomb Names Dr. Kristina Box State’s New Health Commissioner

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Indiana Governor Eric J. Holcomb today announced that Kristina Box, M.D. will be Indiana’s next State Health Commissioner. Dr. Box has been caring for women, throughout the spectrum of their lives, as an OB-GYN for more than 30 years at Community Health Network.

“I can think of no one better suited than Dr. Box to lead our state’s health department at this critical time in Indiana history,” Gov. Holcomb said. “She brings a wealth of deep knowledge and experience, and she is uniquely qualified to lead our state’s efforts to curb infant mortality rates and attack the opioid epidemic.”

Dr. Box started at Community Hospitals of Indianapolis in 1987 as a private practitioner in OB-GYN with Clearvista Women’s Care. Since 2015, she has served as the Physician Lead for Community Health Network’s Women’s Service Line. In this role, she built the first multi-disciplinary Women’s Center in Community Health Network, developed critical partnerships with area children’s hospitals to improve care and decrease health care costs, and led efforts to ensure low-income women receive the important free health screenings they need.

Additionally, Dr. Box served on Indiana’s State Task Force for Neonatal Abstinence. Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome can occur in newborns who are exposed to opiate drugs in the womb. The taskforce developed a system to identify patients in need of support sooner to help mothers get the addiction treatment they need earlier—decreasing negative outcomes for both mothers and infants.

“Throughout my career I have focused on promoting the health of my individual patients and their unborn children,” Dr. Box said. “Over the past two years, my work with substance abuse disorder in pregnancy and Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome has allowed me to expand my focus statewide. I look forward to working closely with our team at the State Department of Health to decrease infant mortality and on many other issues to promote a healthier and safer Indiana.”

Dr. Box earned her undergraduate degree at Indiana University in Bloomington and her medical doctorate at Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis. She is a member of several professional organizations, including the Indiana State Medical Association and the Marion County Medical Association, and serves on many hospital committees. Additionally, Dr. Box has been involved in ongoing surgical medical missions to Haiti and Bolivia for more than a decade.

Her first day with the Indiana State Department of Health will be Oct. 16. Dr. Box fills the role vacated by Dr. Jerome Adams, who became the 20th Surgeon General of the United States in September.