Calvin B. Johnson, M.D., M.P.H., joined Temple University Health System on October 13, 2008 as Vice President and Chief Medical Officer. As Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, Johnson is responsible for providing vision and leadership for the development and implementation of quality initiatives at all Health System hospitals and facilities. This includes assuming system-wide responsibility for all patient-safety, infection control/prevention, and other key programs and initiatives that have an impact on clinical outcomes and patient-satisfaction.

Johnson also works to promote, in collaboration with Temple's medical faculty, increased community outreach and public-health programs and initiatives.

Prior to joining Temple, Dr. Johnson served as the 24th Secretary of Health for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He was appointed to this role in April 2003 by Governor Edward G. Rendell. In that capacity, Johnson directed the health-services and regulatory functions of Pennsylvania's Department of Health, an agency with more than 1,500 employees and a budget of nearly $900 million, which serves Pennsylvania's 12.5 million residents.

During his five-year tenure as Secretary, Dr. Johnson successfully advanced the mission and effectiveness of the Department of Health by initiating and implementing several key strategies and programs – including the allocation of more than $350 million to research projects in the fields of vaccine development, regenerative medicine, and antibiotic resistance; increasing state funding by $3 million for targeted HIV/AIDS prevention and early detection; and establishing a data-driven management system to improve performance management, resource allocation, and outcome measurement. Of note, in 2003, shortly after his appointment as Secretary, Dr. Johnson led Pennsylvania's successful management of the largest Hepatitis A outbreak in U.S. history.

As Secretary of Health, Dr. Johnson also successfully implemented key components of the Governor's health-care reform plan, including hospital-acquired infection control and health-disparity reduction. Other priority initiatives included the creation of a surveillance and intervention pilot program to reduce youth violence, and the management of more than $50 million, annually, in federal appropriations for bioterrorism and public-health preparedness.

At the time of his nomination for Secretary of Health, Dr. Johnson was an assistant professor of pediatrics at Temple University School of Medicine and a practicing pediatrician on the medical staff of Temple University Children's Medical Center.

Before becoming Temple faculty and a member of the medical staff, Dr. Johnson was medical director for Family Health Services at the New York City Department of Health.

Johnson is a member of several professional organizations and societies, including the National Medical Association, the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Public Health Association, and the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (alumni).

His national leadership in a variety of medical, medical-research, and social-science fields is evidenced by his many past and present Board and/or Committee memberships, including the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' National Vaccine Advisory Committee, the National Adoption Center, and the Pennsylvania Life Sciences Greenhouses.

A sought after presenter and public speaker, Johnson has shared his expertise and perspective at local, national, and international meetings and seminars. Some of his most recent presentations included Driving Public Health Performance: Sustaining Success and Results in Public Health Practices (Taiwan Ministry of Health Symposium, in Taipei, Taiwan); Public Health Planning and Vaccination Policy Decisions: In the Shadow of Pandemic Influenza (Pediatric Academic Societies meeting, in Toronto, Canada); and Eliminating Health Disparities by Focusing on Quality (AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals' State of our Health Forum, in Conshohocken, PA).

Dr. Johnson graduated from Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, with a degree in chemistry. He earned his medical degree in 1993 from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and a master's degree in public health from the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health. He completed his training in pediatrics at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Dr. Johnson is married and has four children.