Janet Stanek Describes Holistic Approach To Future Of KDHE

By Noah Taborda, Kansas Reflector

March 29, 2022

TOPEKA — Kansas health secretary Janet Stanek officially was sworn in Monday to her role, promising to continue working with stakeholders to corral what she described as a superagency.

Stanek, who has served as interim head of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment for four months, was appointed to the role shortly after former secretary Lee Norman was forced to resign. The Senate voted to confirm her 32 to 5, despite concerns about potential influence and adherence to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.

“We’ve had a lot of things going on these past two years, but the agency has led with calm,” Stanek said. “We have Medicaid, we have the environment, we have public health and we have not lost focus of any of our duties to carry out our jobs.”

Before taking her new post, Stanek served as the director of the State Employee Health Benefits Program. She spent several decades in health care leadership positions in Pennsylvania, New York and Kansas, including 21 years at Stormont Vail Health in Topeka.

Because Stanek is not a medical doctor, she will lead the state agency as its secretary while somebody else serves as the state’s top health officer. Joan Duwve became the acting state health officer in January.

Senators who opposed Stanek’s confirmation were concerned with her approach to CDC recommendations regarding masks, vaccines and COVID-19 treatments, but the newly sworn-in health secretary has repeatedly assured legislators she will be open to all conversations.

“With Secretary Janet Stanek’s decades of experience, as well as the relationships she has built across the medical community in Kansas, I have no doubt we are on the right path, refocusing the agency’s approach to continuing its critical work to support the mission of protecting and improving the health and environment for all Kansans,” said Gov. Laura Kelly.

Last week, Kansas senators passed four bills — SB 489, SB 541, HB 2280 and HB 2416 — that significantly alter public health laws in Kansas. Opponents of the bills argued the changes went beyond addressing COVID-19 concerns and could hamper the ability of public health officials to act on any future disease outbreaks.

Kelly said restrictions on public health have not worked in the past.

“What would it have been like if we had not had a public health and robust public health response to polio, and how many kids would be disabled and dying from that?” Kelly said. “Because we did have a robust response and because we built community support and people did what they needed to do, we actually have been able to eradicate polio.”

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