Iowa Health and Human Services Director Kelly Garcia will resign from her position after nearly six years leading the agency, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds announced in a news release Monday.
Garcia will leave her post in mid-October, according to the news release, and current Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing Director Larry Johnson will take her place, leading Iowa’s largest cabinet agency.
Garcia was the inaugural director of the combined Iowa Health and Human Services agency after Reynolds combined the Iowa Department of Public Health and the Iowa Department of Human Services into one cabinet agency in August 2022.
“Serving as the inaugural Director of Iowa’s Department of Health and Human Services has been a profound privilege,” Garcia said in the news release. “I’m deeply proud of our work to support Iowa’s families, from strengthening child protective services to improving health care access, especially for Iowa’s most vulnerable.”
Garcia was appointed director in November 2019 and, in June 2020, was appointed to lead the Iowa Department of Public Health. Garcia was the head of Iowa’s public health agency during the COVID-19 pandemic and led the state’s COVID response.
Garcia has also led a statewide mental health system realignment, condensing the state’s 32 mental health and substance abuse districts into seven behavioral health regions to streamline service to Iowans.
“Since her arrival in Iowa, Director Garcia has led with vision and dedication, driving transformative progress within Iowa’s health and human services systems,” Reynolds said in the news release. “From expanding child care opportunities to enhancing health care access in rural communities, her contributions will make a difference for years to come.”
According to the news release, Johnson and Garcia will immediately begin with a plan to ensure a smooth transition.
Johnson, who currently leads the state’s regulatory agency, has led the consolidation and realignment of the regulatory functions, including professional licensing, inspections, and state complaint processes from across state government into one state agency, helping to dramatically reduce case backlog, according to the release.
“Through alignment, our goal at DIAL was to modernize, standardize, and simplify government,” Johnson said in the news release. “We accomplished extraordinary results in a short period of time, and I look forward to seeing that work continue and grow.”
Johnson has worked in a variety of roles in Iowa’s government over the past 14 years and is set to take over the HHS department, which is in charge of public health, Medicaid, and other public assistance programs, in mid-October.
“Director Johnson’s successful leadership of Iowa’s largest regulatory agency has prepared him well for the responsibility of leading the Department of Health and Human Services,” Reynolds said in the news release. “A trusted leader known for achieving high performance, Larry will guide the HHS team through full implementation of the agency’s work in progress as we continue to elevate our service to Iowans.”
Deputy Director and Chief Operations Officer at DIAL, Aaron Baack, will serve as DIAL’s interim director following Johnson’s transition to director.