WORCESTER, Mass. - The City of Worcester recently hired Soloe Dennis to be the new director of public health. He previously served as deputy commissioner for the department of health and human services in Springfield.

Dennis said he is committed to addressing public health inequities and wants to advance the city's work on dealing with challenges like health disparities, COVID-19, homelessness and substance misuse.

"Public health is all about building relationships and partnerships and making sure we have all the right partners at the table," Dennis said. "Looking at accessibility to health care, looking at how health care is delivered to Black and brown populations, but also looking at some of the mechanisms done in the past and how we can change that."

Dennis also previously worked for the state's department of public health as the director of local public health initiatives and as the regional director for the western Massachusetts region.