Dr. Mati Hlatshwayo Davis has resigned her position as director of the St. Louis Department of Health.
The high-profile infectious disease physician took over during the Omicron wave of the coronavirus pandemic in 2021 and made increased access to behavioral health resources and community outreach centerpieces of her tenure.
Hlatshwayo Davis announced Friday that the decision was made after “prayer, reflection and deep conversation with those I trust most.”
She will continue at the Health Department while the city chooses a replacement, she said.
“This moment is about claiming my agency, my rest and doing what is best for me and my family, something women, especially Black women, are rarely afforded the space of support to do,” she said in a post on Facebook. “So I’m claiming it. With love, intention and pride.”
Hlatshwayo Davis said her decision to leave was made on her own accord and not prompted by staffing changes under the new administration.
"Yesterday, I accepted Dr. Mati Hlatshwayo Davis’ resignation as director of health,” newly elected Mayor Cara Spencer said in a statement. “Dr. Mati has done an exemplary job and is well respected by her employees and citizens. I thank her for her service."
Hlatshwayo Davis was already a familiar face to many when former Mayor Tishaura Jones hired her for the position four years ago. As a specialist in infectious diseases at Washington University, she was frequently interviewed for news programs and articles during the coronavirus pandemic as she advocated for vaccinations, masks and other public health measures.
As health director, she oversaw the establishment of the city’s first behavioral health bureau in 2023. Hlatshwayo Davis secured $2.6 million for the newly formed department to address addiction and substance use disorders and other mental health problems in the city’s residents, according to a document of achievements she shared on social media.
“I’ve poured my heart into this city and I leave this role with my head high and my heart full,” she said on Facebook. “We built something powerful together and I’m beyond proud of the legacy we’re leaving behind.”
Hlatshwayo Davis declined interviews and follow-up questions through a department spokeswoman.
Other city officials said Friday it would be difficult to find someone with the physician’s credentials and expertise.
"She really hit the ground running,” said Board of Aldermen President Megan Green. “She’s raised the caliber of our health department, and it needed it.”
Green mentioned staffing levels of the department had increased since Hlatshwayo Davis took over. According to Hlatshwayo Davis, Department of Health staffing has increased by 36% since 2021.
“I hope the impact that she made on the city continues long term even if she is not the person who is the health director,” Green said.
Hlatshwayo Davis' replacement will have their work cut out for them. The health director has warned of further federal cuts to local health efforts and mentioned in a panel earlier this year that more than half of the department’s budget was paid for with grant funding, most of it from federal sources.
Alderman Rasheen Aldridge of the 14th Ward said he respected how Hlatshwayo Davis took accountability for deaths among detainees at the St. Louis City Justice Center during a budget hearing after advocates spoke against the quality of medical care there.
“She has been able to turn around a chaotic ship…making sure medical is provided to inmates,” he said.
“She talked about how she was making the improvements she could on the medical side. There were a lot of emotions in that room. And she didn’t hold back. ... [She said] ‘This is what I'm accountable for, and this is what i’m trying to do to make changes, but we also need changes in operations.’”
Hlatshwayo Davis, a Zimbabwe native, has said her interest in public health was inspired in part by her father’s death after he was diagnosed with cancer and diabetes.
“The title I’ll always carry with the most pride is 'Community Doctor,' she wrote on Facebook. “That’s who I’ve always been and who I’ll always be.”
