Dr. Roxane Townsend

This week, Dr. Katherine Baineaux Blanco appointed Dr. Roxane Townsend as secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals. The appointment of this great leader comes on the two-year anniversary of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. This writer had the opportunity to meet Dr. Townsend and work with her in the week after Katrina.

Few individual demonstrated more leadership and compassion than Dr. Townsend. Her temperament, skills, and passion for improving the health of the citizens of Louisiana has made her a national example of what we as a nation should expect from health care leaders.

The Government Technology Web site characterizes Dr. Townsend as a "health IT advocate." She clearly champions health IT, but in this writer's experience, she is an advocate viewing health IT as a means to an end. Never has this observer seen Dr. Townsend take her eye of the primary mission - improving health care for the citizens of her state - and through her other collaborations - for the Nation.

Bravo and congratulations, Dr. Townsend.

• Dr. Townsend's testimony to the NGA Task Force
• NGA Task Force transcript
• AHIC EHR May, 2006
• AHIC testimony (pdf)
• Louisiana Health Information Exchange Design Session (Vanderbilt, March, 2006)