HHS has named former Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer, MD, as chair of the National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services.
The 21-member committee is tasked with advising the HHS secretary on healthcare challenges in rural areas. Its duties include producing policy briefs and reports as well as making recommendations.
A trained craniofacial and reconstructive surgeon, Dr. Colyer will be the fifth chair of the committee. He will also be the second chair from Kansas after Nancy Kassebaum Baker, who represented the state in the U.S. Senate during President George H.W. Bush's administration.
"We are delighted to welcome someone of Gov. Colyer's stature and experience to chair this committee," HHS Secretary Alex Azar said in a news release. "The committee will play an integral role in our ambitious ongoing efforts at HHS to transform rural healthcare, and Gov. Colyer will work closely with me, [HHS] Deputy Secretary Eric Hargan and the HHS Rural Health Task Force.”
Dr. Colyer, of Overland Park, Kan., finished his gubernatorial term last year. Previously, he served in the Kansas House and Senate and as the state's lieutenant governor.
According to HHS, Dr. Colyer also has volunteered with International Medical Corps in war and conflict zones, and he led the state's Medicaid transformation into an integrated managed care program.
He has a master's degree in international relations from the University of Cambridge in England and a medical degree from the University of Kansas in Lawrence.