Interim Commissioner of Health Tom Bates is about to get a new job. Governor Kevin Stitt announced Wednesday his new initiative called “Front Porch.” Its goal is to integrate services provided by state agencies focused on health and human services. The governor also signaled a new Commissioner of Health will be named soon.
Bates is ready for the new task of making those government services more user friendly for those who need them.
“As I’ve looked at how we serve Oklahomans, I’ve seen how hard we’ve made it for them to engage with us,” said Bates. “Around the state, we make Oklahomans go to multiple offices and multiple web sites just to get the services they are entitled to, and it’s all very confusing. We’ve got to stop giving people the runaround. It’s not how you’d run a business, and it’s not how we should run state government. Moving to a more integrated, customer-centric approach will be transformative for our state.”
Bates will begin taking a look at ways to streamline health and human services provided by the state. He’ll be working with the Governor’s Cabinet and the directors of the Oklahoma Health Care Authority (OHCA), the Department of Health, the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, the Department of Human Services, and the Office of Juvenile Affairs. Other agencies could also be engaged by Bates.
Once a new Commissioner of Health has been appointed, Bates will pivot into the Front Porch initiative full time. Stitt indicated the announcement of the new Health Commissioner is days away.
Bates will operate out of OHCA.
“Tom has done a tremendous job stabilizing and improving performance in the Health Department, and his prior experience in DHS and the AG’s office uniquely qualifies him to help us better coordinate across our major health and human services agencies. He is the right person for this new role,” Stitt said.
During his tenure at the Health Department, Bates took over after former Commissioner Terry Cline resigned in the wake of losing $30 million which forced the Legislature to provide emergency funding and led to layoffs during the holidays. An audit revealed the money has been moved around to different accounts and the emergency funding was returned to the state. Bates also managed the creation of the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority during his time as interim Commissioner.
