As Kerry Winterer takes the reins at the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services on Monday, we stand hopeful.
Posted: Friday, July 10, 2009 12:00 am
As Kerry Winterer takes the reins at the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services on Monday, we stand hopeful.
We are hopeful because after six months without a CEO, a new leader is on the job at an agency "in desperate need of a good leader," in the words of Omaha Sen. Steve Lathrop, who leads a special legislative committee on developmental disabilities.
Gov. Dave Heineman cited Winterer's leadership skills in announcing the appointment. Winterer also understands the value of collaboration and can improve and increase public/private partnerships with human services providers, advocacy groups and others, Heineman said.
Winterer said he wants the department "to have a focus of being open and responsive."
Although some are dismissing this as a political appointment because of Winterer's extensive background in state Republican leadership positions, the new Health and Human Services CEO has 20 years of experience in the health care field.
He co-founded The Benefit Group Inc., which administers health insurance and other plans for small employers, and he has twice been president of the Heartland Family Service board of directors.
Although Winterer doesn't at first glance appear to have a track record as a reformer, sometimes the greatest leaders emerge in difficult, unpredictable circumstances.
He comes in at a time when there has been justifiable skepticism about recent policy decisions, including the move of 47 medically fragile people from the Beatrice State Developmental Center.
The scope of the task facing him is immense, and the way he meets that task will be critical for the thousands of vulnerable people depending on the agency's services.
Major issues facing Winterer:
- Implementing behavioral health reform. Nebraska's safe haven fiasco brought holes in services, especially for troubled teens, to light.
- Relentless cost-cutting pressure on the agency's
$2.9 billion annual budget. Winterer will oversee Medicaid, long-term care, public health and veterans' homes, in addition to behavioral health, children and family services, and developmental disabilities.
- Hiring a new director of developmental disabilities to replace John Wyvill. The division has been struggling with the loss of Medicaid certification at the Beatrice State Developmental Center and the need for comprehensive reform in services for developmentally disabled Nebraskans in community-based settings and at BSDC.
The Journal Star editorial board has vigorously called for the governor to lead in reforming services to the developmentally disabled.
Winterer's performance will be part of the measurement of the governor's success. We wish him well.