Palm Health Foundation announced today the appointment of Jyothi Gunta MD, MPH, Director of the Florida Department of Health-Palm Beach County, to its board of trustees. Dr. Gunta replaces former director, Alina Alonso, MD, who retired earlier this year. The department of health trustee position is appointed to ensure the foundation maintains close ties with public health in Palm Beach County.

Dr. Gunta’s professional interests, including obesity medicine, occupational medicine, health and wellness, education, and policy, align with Palm Health Foundation’s mission to inspire and fund solutions for better health in Palm Beach County. She will help guide the foundation as it launches its new strategic plan, evolving its work to create a countywide culture of health network, advance brain health, and strengthen the health professions.

“We are excited to have such an accomplished public health professional join our board,” said Patrick McNamara, president and CEO. “Dr. Gunta’s expertise will be an asset to the areas where we are driven to create impact—preventive health solutions that help individuals and communities thrive, policy for sustainable change, and investments in education to grow our healthcare workforce.”

Dr. Gunta is a board-certified physician in Preventive Medicine/Public Health and board certified in Occupational/Environmental Medicine with training and experience in family medicine, evidence based preventive care, occupational medicine, epidemiology, research, education, and policy. She earned her Master’s in Public Health from NOVA Southeastern University. She is also a certified Medical Review Officer (MRO) and a certified Department of Transportation (DOT) medical examiner.

She has several years of experience as a medical director in family practice, preventive health services, obesity medicine, urgent care and occupational and environmental health. She has demonstrated leadership within multiple healthcare systems and outpatient practices including the Veterans Health Administration, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Dr. Gunta played an integral part in one of the most intensive projects of COVID-19 vaccine safety monitoring in U.S history and contributed to the description of health and functional outcomes following vaccination. This data was published in the Lancet Child and Adolescent Health Journal.



Dr. Gunta received her Medical Doctor (MD) from Saint Petersburg State Medical Academy (I.I. Mechnikov) in St. Petersburg, Russia. She completed her internship in pediatrics residency at Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu, Hawai'i before entering Preventive Medicine/Public Health residency program at the Florida Department of Health in Palm Beach County where she also served as the chief resident.