A sudden departure from Governor Jim Doyle's cabinet. After a little more than a year in the post, Secretary Kevin Hayden is leaving the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services, effective next Tuesday, April 15. Doyle announced Tuesday that Hayden is leaving his Cabinet to return to the private sector.
Doyle thanked Hayden for leadership and service to the department, as Secretary and the state's Medicaid Director, working to implement BadgerCare Plus, streamlining and modernizing the state's Medicaid program, and launching a critical child welfare plan for the children of Milwaukee County. Doyle said Karen Timberlake, current Deputy Secretary at the Department of Health and Family Services, has been appointed to succeed Hayden.