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New leadership for health department

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by Beth Mueller

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Wisconsin will get a new top health official in less than a week, after the Department of Health and Family Services secretary resigned Tuesday after 15 months on the job.

Secretary Kevin Hayden will return to the private sector when his resignation takes effect next Tuesday, closing a tenure in which the state expanded health care coverage to children.

“I’m resigning because things are going great here,” Hayden said. “I’d rather leave when things are going good.”

During his time as secretary, Hayden worked with the governor to implement BadgerCare Plus, some of the most significant government health care reform in recent years. The program gives low-income children free access to health care coverage and some kind of affordable access to every child in Wisconsin.

“Secretary Hayden has been an instrumental leader for the Department of Health and Family Services and a key player in increasing the access and affordability of health care for all Wisconsinites,” Gov. Jim Doyle said in a statement. “His private sector perspective helped change the way Wisconsin purchases health care and his service will have a lasting impact.”

Doyle said Hayden also streamlined and improved fiscal discipline in the state’s Medicaid program as the Medicaid director.

Hayden, a University of Wisconsin alumnus, said he would explore his options in the private sector but doesn’t have a job lined up.

Doyle has appointed current DHFS Deputy Secretary Karen Timberlake to replace Hayden, who Hayden characterized as “very bright.”

“She has been intimately involved in policies and programs, so we’ll have a seamless transition,” Hayden said.

Doyle also praised Timberlake, a Harvard-educated lawyer who has also run the state Office of Employee Relations.

“Karen Timberlake brings incredible knowledge and energy to this position,” Doyle said in a statement. “Her strong dedication to the people of Wisconsin and invaluable experience will be great assets for the department.”

Hayden said Timberlake would face the challenges of “tough economic times” ahead.

“I think we’re just going to have tight state budgets, and that always makes decisions about recourses tough,” Hayden said.

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