Lexington Commissioner of Health dies at 75

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ) – Dr. Rice Cowan Leach, a life-long Public Health servant and Lexington’s Commissioner of Health, died Friday, April 1, following a battle with cancer. He was 75.

Leach served as Commissioner of Health since March 2011. He had previously worked with the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department from 2005 until 2010 as the executive director of what was then the department’s Primary Care Center.

Under Leach’s watch, the health department received national accreditation from the Public Health Accreditation Board, making it one of the first in the country to receive the honor. The department also launched the city’s first needle-exchange program in 2015, designed to curb the potential spread of HIV and Hepatitis C among injecting drug users.

Leach had announced plans to retire in 2016, allowing the Board of Health to start the search for his replacement. The nationwide search is ongoing. In the interim, the board has named Jack Cornett, the health department’s chief financial officer, as acting commissioner.

Mayor Jim Gray issued a statement following the loss, saying, “”We are very sad to learn of the passing of Dr. Rice Leach. Dr. Leach was a great man in every way. Compassionate. Committed. Determined. He saw suffering and tried to heal it.”