According to the release, the chief medical officer will oversee the implementation of various health service policies for the physical and mental well-being of MISD students and staff, such as developing safety protocols in relation to COVID-19.
In a Sept. 24 address to the Greater Magnolia Parkway Chamber of Commerce, MISD Superintendent Todd Stephens said he believes MISD is the first district locally—and one of the first, if not the first statewide—to hire a medical doctor.
“We made a decision as we were working through so many of the protocols and issues related to this—a lot of these things that were just sort of outside our range of expertise—and we decided it would be a real advantage for us if we had a chief medical officer for our district,” Stephens said. “We’ve got a pediatrician working for us, helping us look at our protocols and look at things we’re doing in our classrooms to take care of our kids and teachers.”
Stephens said Martinez's first day was Oct. 1.
Martinez is an emergency room pediatric physician with the Hospital Corporation of America and has over 21 years of experience practicing medicine in various institutions, including Texas Children’s and Memorial Hermann hospitals, according to the release.
"I don’t know of any other district that has [done something] similar," Stephens said.
Additional reporting by Anna Lotz
