Roger Miller, Coryell County Judge, appointed and swore in Dr. Diedra Wuenschel, Coryell Health Medical Clinic Director, as Coryell County Health Authority Friday.

“It is a privilege to serve Coryell County,” Wuenschel said. “As a doctor and a member of the community, I personally have a vested interest, with a firsthand view of the happenings in the community, including the hospital, clinics, local retail locations, as well as I have children in the school system. I am available to work with the County to help ensure we are living in a safe community.”

“A County Health Authority is a physician, appointed by the Commissioners Court for a two-year term, who administers state and local laws relating to public health within a local government’s jurisdiction,” explained Miller. “Since the beginning of the pandemic, the county has collaborated with our local health system’s leadership, as well as with the local school system in an effort to protect, educate, identify cases of coronavirus in our area, and ensure we have the plans and resources the community needs as the current COVID-19 pandemic continues to progress.”

Dr. Diedra Wuenschel, board certified family practice physician, joined the Coryell Health in 2011. Dr. Wuenschel is the Coryell Health Medical Director for RehabLiving, the Medical Director of the Coryell Health Medical Clinic of Gatesville and Mills County, as well as elected Chief of Staff.

VIDEO: Dr. Wuenschel discusses how the medical field has changed to adapt to COVID-19 , including car visits, employee, patient, and nursing home resident testing, and collaboration with County and local school leadership, and more: 

Dr. Wuenschel was drawn to rural medicine so families didn’t have to travel far for medical care. “When you treat patients in small communities you get to know them and their families, often caring for multiple generations,” said Dr. Wuenschel. “You can make a difference to not only individual patients, but to the community as a whole. There is a continuity of care and a kind of gratification that’s very hard to find in any other kind of practice.”

When she is not treating patients in Gatesville and Mills County clinic locations, Dr. Wuenschel enjoys singing, helping at the family owned restaurant, and spending time with her husband and children on their farm.

Health Authorities (HA) serve as a critical part of the state’s public health system. Health and Safety Code establishes and defines a Health Authority in Texas as a physician appointed under the provisions of Chapter 121, to administer state and local laws relating to public health within an appointing body’s jurisdiction. Health Authorities are considered an officer of the state when performing duties to implement and enforce laws that protect the public’s health. 

https://dshs.state.tx.us/rls/lha/Department-of-State-Health-Services-Appointed-Health-Authority.aspx