Dr. Kim A. Cook serves as the District Health Director for the North Central Health District (District 5-2), based in Macon, Georgia. The North Central Health District oversees public health services for 13 counties in central Georgia, including Baldwin, Bibb (Macon-Bibb), Crawford, Hancock, Houston, Jasper, Jones, Monroe, Peach, Putnam, Twiggs, Washington, and Wilkinson counties.

Dr. Cook graduated with a Bachelor of Sciences degree in Zoology from the University of Georgia and completed his medical education at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta in 1989.  Following medical school, he completed his internship at the University of Hawaii and a Preventive Medicine residency at the University of Utah where he also earned a Master of Science in Public Health.  He went on to also successfully complete a 2-year Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) fellowship in 1996 within the Foodborne and Diarrheal Diseases Branch of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, GA.

Prior to joining DPH, Dr. Cook worked as a medical epidemiologist with the CDC and state health departments in Utah, Georgia, and Vermont. His experiences in federal and state public health include leading infectious disease outbreak investigations, analyzing public health surveillance data, and helping to shape preventive health programs.

Dr. Cook most recently worked in the field of pharmaceutical sciences. He established and led a clinical research site in Gainesville, GA, that conducted clinical trials testing the safety and efficacy of prescription drugs under development by major pharmaceutical sponsors.  He subsequently served as the Medical Director for a pharmaceutical company and led the clinical development and execution of clinical studies for investigational new drugs resulting in the approval of multiple FDA new drug applications for prescription drugs. 

Dr. Cook is a native of the Savannah Georgia, but also spent time in Jenkins County, GA, at his family’s farm that he now owns with his two sisters growing Loblolly pine trees.  He also owned and operated a small vegetable and fruit farm in Clermont, GA, for over 20 years.  Dr. Cook has 2 grown children, a son and a daughter, both residing in Georgia.  He enjoys hiking, sailing, gardening, and traveling.