Tallahassee, Fla. /Florida Newswire/ -– Today, Governor Rick Scott named Dr. Frank Farmer as Florida’s Surgeon General and announced he will retain Liz Dudek as Secretary of the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA). As Surgeon General, Dr. Farmer will serve as both Florida’s chief medical officer and as Secretary of the Department of Health (DOH).
Dudek currently serves as Interim Secretary and had previously served as Deputy Secretary for Health Quality Assurance, where she managed a staff of six hundred employees responsible for the state licensure and federal certification of health care facilities and service. She has served AHCA in a variety of other leadership roles, including Assistant Deputy Secretary and Bureau Chief of two divisions. Her record of accomplishment at the agency includes cutting cost, increasing efficiency, and cracking down on waste and fraud.
A Florida native, Dr. Farmer has extensive experience in special operations and in the medical corps of the United States Army, Air Force, and Florida National Guard. He has served as a battalion surgeon in the Florida National Guard, as a Flight Surgeon, a bioterrorism consultant to the Air Force, and as Commander of the 919 Special Operations Medical Group. He retired from the Air Force with the rank of Colonel in 2004. Prior to medical school, Dr. Farmer served in Vietnam as a Captain in the Army and is a recipient of the Bronze Star and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry.
Dr. Farmer has also had a distinguished civilian medical career. He served as President of the Florida Medical Association from 2001-2002 and has served on the Board of Governors for the American College of Physicians, Florida Chapter. From 2006-2007, he served as the Chairman of the Florida Board of Medicine and is a current board member. He has published numerous articles in medical journals and publications. He received his undergraduate degree from Stetson University, a master’s and Ph.D. in history from the University of Georgia, and his medical degree from the Medical College of Georgia.
“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,” Governor Scott stated. “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.”
