Why Should Delaware Care?
Delaware announced it will open a new government office to manage how the state receives public health messages. It comes as states have challenged federal public health officials and contend with virus outbreaks, like measles.
Gov. Matt Meyer signed an executive order Monday that creates an Office of the Surgeon General in Delaware, which will be responsible for public health messaging and improving health outcomes.
Delaware joins a handful of other states like California, Florida and Michigan that also have state-run surgeon general offices. It also comes as some states, like Delaware, have rebuked the federal government and some of its health recommendations.
Meyer selected Dr. Neil Hockstein, chair of the Delaware Health Care Commission and an otolaryngologist – better-known as an ear, nose and throat doctor – to serve as the inaugural surgeon general.
Hockstein has served as a close advisor for Meyer since the start of his term in 2025, working to allocate and manage how Delaware will spend hundreds of millions of federal dollars meant to bolster rural healthcare.
He has also worked as a physician in Delaware for decades, with ties to both local and regional health systems. As surgeon general, Hockstein will act as Meyer’s “chief physician advisor” and work as a deputy cabinet secretary in the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services.
Additionally, the director of Delaware’s Division of Public Health will report to Hockstein. He will begin in the role on Aug. 3.
In an interview on Wednesday, Hockstein said he was honored to be selected for the role and that he is looking forward to working with state leaders to address the state’s health.
“I feel a tremendous weight to perform well and do the best that I can for frankly the community and the state that I love,” Hockstein said.
Who is Neil Hockstein?
Hockstein has worked in a variety of roles within Delaware, as well as in nearby Philadelphia. He is a Delaware native who grew up in north Wilmington, and has worked in Delaware as a doctor for 20 years.
Hockstein received his undergraduate degree from Johns Hopkins University, graduated from Thomas Jefferson University’s Sidney Kimmel Medical College and completed his residency at the University of Pennsylvania.
He is the chief medical officer of Parallel ENT and Allergy, which offers management support for ear, nose and throat practices and helps them to “weather healthcare sector changes.”
He is also an assistant clinical professor at Jefferson, where he teaches otolaryngology.
Hockstein currently serves as the chair of the Delaware Healthcare Commission, which is a board of health professionals responsible for recommending how to improve services in the state.
In recent months, he also has served as a close advisor to Meyer, who is a lifelong friend. During the early months of the COVID pandemic, Hockstein advised Meyer, who was then serving as New Castle County executive, on the county’s virus testing program.
Now, as the state awards hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts through the federal Rural Health Transformation program, Meyer has once again turned to Hockstein.
Last month, the state announced it would award a $78 million contract to Thomas Jefferson University, Hockstein’s alma mater. Bid reviews obtained by Spotlight Delaware show Hockstein sat on the scoring committee responsible for reviewing Jefferson’s bid to run Delaware’s first medical school.
Asked about his teaching role and its connection to the bid, he said because he worked as a volunteer, he did not need to recuse himself. Additionally, he said he “specifically looked into it” because of the appearance of a conflict.
“I don’t get paid for teaching them, but I teach them,” he said. “And so they give that as a sort of an honorary thing.”
As Hockstein steps into his new role, he said he plans to take a step back from a large portion of his clinical work, as well as some of his outside leadership roles. Starting at the end of July, he will no longer be on call for surgical emergencies. His last day in the operating room will be July 28.
He also said he intends to consult the state’s Public Integrity Commission about his role as chief medical officer of Parallel ENT and Allergy. Hockstein said he would be a state employee, but the exact details of his employment are unclear at the moment.
Why open a new government office?
Meyer announced the new office on Monday with the goal of improving how the public receives public health messaging, as well as working on initiatives that improve health outcomes.
The state is also opening the office nearly a year after it had sparred with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, led by Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., over its public health recommendations and vaccine rollbacks.
Meyer’s office said in its announcement that the office was important because “federal public health agencies face growing political interference and eroding public trust.”
In September 2025, as the federal government began revising vaccine recommendations, Delaware and other states publicly countered the revised guidelines. When Delaware refuted the federal government, Meyer issued a “standing order” to pharmacists to “ensure ease of access” for people seeking the vaccines in the state.
It mirrored efforts in other states like Massachusetts, whose governor ordered her state’s insurance carriers to continue to cover vaccines, even if they were not recommended by the federal government.
Delaware joined with Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Rhode Island to collectively focus on “developing evidence-based recommendations on vaccinations, disease surveillance, emergency preparedness and supporting state public health labs.”
Meyer also emphasized that the coalition would base its recommendations on “science” – an apparent reference to recent federal policy decisions that critics say were to appease politics and not backed up by scientific data.
Separately, the nation has had to contend with different viral outbreaks this year, including a measles outbreak, which has impacted at least 42 states.
“Science must continue to determine how we keep our state healthy, and that science says vaccines save lives and protect our communities,” Meyer said in September.
Hockstein said on Wednesday there are “three pillars” to public health, which include regular health surveillance and vaccination, access to care, and responding to evolving health crises.
He pointed to how public health agencies examined public smoking, the COVID pandemic and keeping water clean in the 19th century. Today, Hockstein said he hopes to address social media and work to create “smart policies” that protect youth mental health.
“I think what we’re missing is the dangers that our children are carrying around in their pockets, with front-facing cameras, with access to social media, with untethered and unfettered access to their phones, and it’s creating a mental health crisis, a loneliness crisis that we need to address,” Hockstein said.
