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Dr. Lee Norman, the former chief medical officer for University of Kansas Health Systems, was named as the interim secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment on Monday, Jan. 7, 2018.

Gov.-elect Laura Kelly on Monday named Lee Norman, the former chief medical officer for the University of Kansas Health System, as the interim secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.

Norman, who currently serves as the state surgeon of Kansas, has served as a senior health systems executive for 26 years, retiring from KU Health System in 2017. He has provided oversight for health care programs including Medicare, Medicaid, Kancare and commercial health care insurance companies, according to a news release.

“It is my priority to bring together the best and brightest leaders to help rebuild Kansas,” Kelly said in the news release. “Dr. Lee Norman has a broad range of experience that will help improve the efficiency of our agencies and provide the best possible oversight.”

Additionally, Norman recently returned from Middle East deployment where he was the 35th Infantry Division Surgeon, serving as the senior medical commander over 12,000 U.S. soldiers. He previously served in the Air Force as a family physician, flight surgeon and combat medicine instructor in the 1970s, according to KU.

Norman is currently a clinical assistant professor for the KU School of Medicine. He also serves as a board member of Heart to Heart International, a humanitarian organization based in Lenexa.

“Like Governor-elect Laura Kelly, I have committed much of my life to public service,” Norman said in the release. “I’m honored to join the governor-elect at this critical time for Kansas. I look forward to working together with a diverse group of leaders to improve our state’s health programs and increase efficiency and transparency in our government agencies.”