BATON ROUGE, La. — Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry announced key Louisiana Department of Health leadership changes in Baton Rouge on Tuesday with the naming of Secretary Dr. Ralph Abraham as the state's inaugural surgeon general.
Gov. Landry made the leadership changes upon signing House Bill 853, which created the Office of the Surgeon General.
Under the bill, the surgeon general is appointed by the governor and must be a licensed and practicing physician in Louisiana. The surgeon general will absorb the duties of the state health Officer, making the new position budget-neutral.
“I am confident that Surgeon General Abraham and Secretary Harrington are going to form a dynamic team that puts the health needs of Louisianans first. They will ensure coordination between agencies and institutions as we move our state forward in a coherent unified direction,” Gov. Landry said. “It has been a top priority for me to have a doctor oversee health policy and have a talented health executive oversee implementation, which is what we have with Dr. Abraham and Secretary Harrington."
According to LDH's organizational chart, the surgeon general is co-equal with the secretary and is charged with crafting health policy, including healthcare workforce development; advocating for wellness and disease prevention, and coordinating with other state agencies and institutions to improve health outcomes in Louisiana.
“It is an honor to serve as Louisiana’s first Surgeon General, and I am particularly excited about the opportunity it will afford me to help modernize the Department, improve health outcomes, pursue innovative policy and work closely with agencies and institutions throughout Louisiana,” Dr. Abraham said.
“This position was created to reverse the prior trend of bureaucrats creating policy and doctors reacting to it, moving us in a unified way forward. This is the culmination of my life’s work dedicated to improving the lives of patients, so I look forward to bringing a doctor’s point of view to health policy and continuing to work toward Governor Landry’s goal of making a stronger, healthier Louisiana.”
Landry's office also said that Undersecretary Michael Harrington would become the Department’s Secretary, Chief of Staff Drew Maranto would become the new Undersecretary, and LDH Director of Legislative and Governmental Relations Bethany Blackson would be the Chief of Staff.
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