Government Technology

Health IT Advocate Promoted to Secretary of Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals


You May Also Like

August 27, 2007 By

Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco today named Dr. Roxane Townsend as secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals.  The appointment comes as the current secretary, Dr. Fred Cerise, accepts a position as Louisiana State University System Vice President for Health Affairs and Medical Education.

Townsend is currently deputy secretary for DHH, overseeing all program offices. Townsend previously served as the agency's medical director for the Medicaid program. Prior to joining DHH, she served as both the Chief Operating Officer and interim Chief Executive Officer at Earl K. Long Medical Center in Baton Rouge.

Blanco said Townsend brings the leadership and experience to continue the health care reforms started by Dr. Cerise, as well as the expertise to continue efforts to assist in the recovery of health care services devastated by the 2005 hurricanes.

"When Hurricane Katrina first threatened New Orleans, Dr. Townsend was one of the first doctors and state officials to arrive at the Superdome to care for our citizens. She brings with her not only leadership skills and experience, but a strong sense of compassion and integrity as well. I am pleased she has agreed to accept this responsibility, and I know the health of our citizens remains under strong direction."

The governor also noted Townsend's efforts to improve health care through the use of technology. \ "As we work to improve health care, incorporating cutting-edge technology is critical to success," said Blanco. "Dr. Townsend has been the key leader in the work to put information technology to work. This will one day soon link doctors' offices to clinics and hospitals. Her vision for a health care system fully integrated with information technology is rapidly becoming a reality."

Both Townsend's appointment and Cerise's new position are effective September 15.


You may use or reference this story with attribution and a link to
http://www.govtech.com/health/Health-IT-Advocate-Promoted-to-Secretary.html


| More

Comments


Add Your Comment

You are solely responsible for the content of your comments. We reserve the right to remove comments that are considered profane, vulgar, obscene, factually inaccurate, off-topic, or considered a personal attack.

GovTech Papers and Case Studies View Library


Sponsored Links



Phone RSS

Government Best Practices

» A New Model for Human Resources
» Abandoning the High Cost of Enterprise Content Management



Government Technology
Public CIO
Emergency Management
Digital Communities