Robert D. Karch, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.A.P.

Robert D. Karch, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.A.P. was appointed Health Officer and Director for the Florida Department of Health in Orange County by the Florida State Surgeon General and the appointment’s approval was confirmed by the Orange County Board of County Commissioners on July 26, 2022.    

Dr. Karch brings over two decades of experience in the medical and public health fields. Before joining the Orange County Health Department, Dr. Karch served as the Deputy Secretary and Deputy State Health Officer for Children’s Medical Services at the Florida Department of Health. Prior to this position, he practiced pediatrics with the Nemours Foundation, and served as the president of the medical staff and chair of the medical executive committee at Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orlando, Florida. He is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Central Florida (UCF) College of Medicine and served as the UCF College of Medicine pediatric clerkship site director for the Nemours Children’s Hospital inpatient teaching service. He was inducted into the Gold Humanism Honor Society at UCF College of Medicine.   

He is board certified by the American Board of Pediatrics and is a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). He is also a member of the Florida Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (FCAAP), the American Public Health Association, the Florida Public Health Association, the American Society for Nutrition, and the American College of Lifestyle Medicine. He is a Board Member of the Florida Healthy Kids Corporation and the Orange County Early Learning Coalition. He serves on the Florida State Health Improvement Plan (SHIP) (2022-2026) Advisory Committee and is a Co-Chair of the SHIP Injury, Safety and Violence Workgroup. He has served on the Florida Developmental Disability Council and the Florida Genetic and Newborn Screening Advisory Committee. 

Dr. Karch earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Delaware, a Master of Public Health degree from the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health in New York City, and a Master of Science degree in Health Policy Research from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. He earned his Medical Degree from the Georgetown University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C. 

Dr. Karch completed his pediatric internship and residency training at the Miami Nicklaus Children’s Hospital, where he also served as chief pediatric resident. Following residency training, he served in the National Health Service Corp (NHSC) as a general pediatrician in rural northern Arizona at the Canyonlands Community Health Care Center in Page, Arizona. After his NHSC service, Dr. Karch completed a fellowship in Pediatric Nutrition within the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. He also completed a Health Services and Health Policy research fellowship in the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program at the University of Pennsylvania.  

As Director of the Florida Department of Health in Orange County, Dr. Karch continues to seek innovative strategies to fulfill the mission of the Florida Department of Health; to protect, promote, and improve the health of all Floridians through integrated state, county and community efforts.