Dr. Paul Mayer Named Chief Medical Officer in Arapahoe County

Arapahoe County Public Health named Dr. Paul Mayer as chief medical officer, effective June 1. Mayer replaces Dr. Chris Urbina, who retired after serving as the department's first chief medical officer since its 2023 founding.

Mayer continues serving as chief medical officer for Larimer and El Paso counties. He earned his medical degree from the University of California at Davis and spent five years practicing family medicine, obstetrics, and inpatient medicine in Durango. For more than 20 years, he worked in migrant and seasonal farmworker health clinics across Oregon and Colorado, adding HIV care to his practice in 2016.

He moved into public health in 2021 as Larimer County's medical officer, adding El Paso County in 2022.

Jennifer Ludwig, director of Arapahoe County Public Health, said Mayer's background in clinical practice and community health will benefit the 200-person department. Arapahoe County Public Health formed in 2023 after Tri-County Health Department dissolved, creating separate health departments for Arapahoe, Adams, and Douglas counties. The department provides immunizations, disease surveillance, environmental health services, and community health programs.