Gov. Scott Appoints Surgeon Gen. and Top Health Executive for Florida

On Monday, Gov. Rick Scott named Florida’s new surgeon general and the secretary for the Agency for Health Care Administration.

Dr. Frank Farmer, 69, will serve as the Florida Surgeon General, which is also the secretary for the state Department of Health. He works in Ormond Beach as an internist and is the former president of the Florida Medical Association.

Farmer, a retired military officer served in Vietnam as a Marine before attending the Medical College of Georgia. He was a flight surgeon in the Air Force and the Florida National Guard before retiring as a colonel in 2004.

The Florida native also received his Bachelor’s and Masters in history from Stetson University and his PhD. in history from the University of Georgia.

He succeeds Dr. Ana Viamonte Ros, an appointee of former governor Charlie Crist.

“Dr. Farmer brings an impressive track record of medical leadership to the Department of Health, and he will further the agency’s important mission to promote, protect and improve the health of all people in Florida,” said Scott of the Bronze Star recipient and the Vietnam Cross of Gallantry.

 

Joining Farmer as one of two new heads of Florida’s two health agencies is Liz Dudek. As the secretary of the Agency for Health Care Administration, Dudek will oversee the state’s Medicaid program, the division of Health Quality Assurance, and the Florida Center for Health Information and Policy Analysis.

Dudek will go from the interim to permanent secretary of the ACHA, managing a budget of some $20 million, according to the Florida AHCA website.

Dudek brings 30 years of experience in the health field to her now-permanent position.

“Liz is an effective and hard-working leader at AHCA, and she will help me reorganize the state’s health care agencies to increase efficiency,” Scott said in a press release.