ABC News' chief health and medical editor Dr. Rich Besser, is exiting the network April 3 to become president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Besser, a pediatrician and specialist in infectious diseases, joined the network in 2009. He joined ABC from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, where he was responsible for public health emergency preparedness.
That served him in good stead while reporting on Ebola from Liberia in 2014.
"It isn’t just his knowledge and his journalism that sets Rich apart, it has been his role at ABC News as our most trusted medical adviser and friend," said ABC News president James Goldston in an email to staffers Monday. "He has been there for everybody at this News Division at our most vulnerable moments, the painful and scary moments, and at those moments when we need a shoulder to cry on. On a personal note, Rich has often helped me and my family as well, and I, and I know all of you, will be forever grateful to him."
