Mary Wakefield, PhD, RN, one of the country's leading rural health advocates, will assume the position of acting deputy secretary of HHS, the department's No. 2 post, according to The Hill.
According to the report, Dr. Wakefield said in an interview Thursday that rural health will continue to be one of her top priorities, in addition to reforms aimed to improve the efficiency of healthcare delivery across the board. Dr. Wakefield also promised to focus on "strengthening HHS as an agency," according to the report.
Dr. Wakefield has spent the last five years serving as administrator of the Health and Human Resources and Services Administration. HRSA has an annual budget of more than $10 billion, and funds more than 9,000 sites nationwide.
Dr. Wakefield is also the previous chief of staff to Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.).