New Kansas Chief Medical Officer Appointed
Dr. Greg Lakin, D.O., has worked as a family practitioner, as well as in emergency medicine, skilled nursing and long-term care, and with patients suffering from drug and alcohol addiction.
Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback appointed Dr. Greg Lakin as Chief Medical Officer for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and Darian Dernovish as interim secretary for the department, effective Jan. 8. Dernovish replaces Dr. Susan Mosier, who resigned effective Jan. 5.
Lakin, D.O., has worked as a family practitioner, as well as in emergency medicine, skilled nursing and long-term care, and with patients suffering from drug and alcohol addiction. He previously was medical director for Valley Hope Rehabilitation Center.
"Dr. Lakin has the perspective of serving as a front-line medical provider for the last two decades. He will be a great addition to our team at KDHE," said Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer, M.D.
"Health care has been my mission in life, and I look forward to bringing what I have learned from my years in the medical field to KDHE," said Lakin. "I feel that this new position will provide an opportunity to make a more significant difference in the health care of all Kansans."
Dernovish had served as an attorney at KDHE since 2015 and was the agency's chief litigator in federal and state court and worked on issues of environmental law, public health, health care finance, and personnel.
Mosier announced her plan to resign last November. The Topeka Capital-Journal's Tim Carpenter reported then that "her duties at KDHE included abroad portfolio of state government health services, but she received the most attention in Kansas for her administration of Medicaid. The $3 billion KanCare program was outsourced to three for-profit insurance companies in 2013, triggering years of conflict between supporters and critics of the reform with Mosier often in the political crossfire."