Kansas appoints new KDHE secretary

Gov. Laura Kelly on Monday appointed a former Topeka hospital executive as the new secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.

Janet Stanek has most recently been director of the state employee health benefits program. She replaces Dr. Lee Norman, who announced his resignation Nov. 19. He’d been the health department’s top administrator since Kelly took office in January 2019.

“With Janet’s decades of experience as well as the relationships she has built across the medical community in Kansas, I have no doubt that she will be able to step into this role immediately and continue the agency’s critical work,” Kelly said in a news release.

Kelly’s office said Stanek has held healthcare leadership positions in Pennsylvania, New York and Kansas, including 21 years at Stormont Vail Health Topeka, where she last was chief operating officer and senior vice president.

Stanek also is board chair of the Kansas Health Institute, a non-partisan health policy organization. She will serve as acting secretary until the Senate confirms her appointment.