Patrick McGough, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Public Health Officer of the Oklahoma City and Oklahoma County Health Department, has been elected President of the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) for the 2026-2027 term, effective July 1. The appointment concludes McGough's methodical progression through NACCHO's leadership ranks, having served as Vice President in 2024-2025 and President-Elect in 2025-2026, following the organization's formal succession structure.
McGough's election underscores NACCHO's peer-driven governance model, in which a 20-member board of local and tribal health officials elected by their peers sets the association's strategic direction and legislative agenda. NACCHO Chief Executive Lori Tremmel Freeman stated that McGough's "effective leadership comes at a critical time," citing his experience strengthening public health workforce and infrastructure in Oklahoma. Freeman emphasized that his tenure at the Oklahoma City-County Health Department demonstrates the depth of expertise NACCHO board members bring to supporting local health departments nationwide. McGough said he was "honored by the opportunity to collaborate with colleagues, board members, and partners across the country to elevate their voices and further strengthen a unified and thriving public health community."
McGough holds a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree in executive leadership from Oklahoma City University, where he was named Distinguished Alumnus in 2016-2017. He brings more than 40 years of clinical and community health experience, including 35 years as a Registered Nurse and over 25 years in public health administration. Before joining the Oklahoma City-County Health Department in 2008, he held leadership positions at the Oklahoma State Department of Human Services and the Oklahoma State Department of Health, and previously owned and operated a home health agency. The Kresge Foundation designated McGough an Emerging Leader in Public Health in 2017. He also serves as an adjunct professor for doctoral nursing students at Oklahoma City University and holds leadership roles with professional organizations including Big Cities Health Coalition and the Association of Public Health Nurses.
The Oklahoma City and Oklahoma County Health Department, established in 1954 through a merger of separate city and county operations, ranks among the first public health departments in the nation to achieve accreditation by the Public Health Accreditation Board. Under McGough's leadership since his promotion to CEO in 2020, the department has maintained this accreditation status while administering clinical and community health programs across Oklahoma County. The organization serves a mixed-size jurisdiction with diverse public health needs, positioning McGough to represent municipalities and counties of varying populations on the NACCHO board.
McGough's appointment reflects the significance attached to experienced local health leadership at the national policy level. The NACCHO presidency provides a platform to shape the association's advocacy priorities and legislative agenda on behalf of the nation's 3,300 local health departments at a time when public health systems face sustained resource constraints and emerging disease threats. His trajectory from grassroots community health administration to the leadership of a major national association suggests that NACCHO values leaders who have demonstrated sustained engagement with workforce development and infrastructure strengthening in specific jurisdictions, rather than leaders with exclusively national or academic backgrounds.
