Gov. Pete Ricketts announced late Thursday that Department of Health and Human Services CEO Courtney Phillips will be leaving her job in Nebraska Oct. 14.
She will become executive commissioner for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission under Gov. Greg Abbott, Ricketts said.
Phillips has headed the Nebraska department since 2015.
“When I hired Courtney, we pledged to transform the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services,” Ricketts said. “Across the agency, she and her team have successfully been fulfilling that pledge."
Her annual business plans for the department "brought new focus and discipline to the agency," Ricketts said. "We are grateful for her service and congratulate her on this exciting new opportunity.”
In a written statement, Phillips thanked Nebraskans for being welcoming and supportive.
People are also reading…
"It has been a great honor and personally fulfilling,” she said in a press release. “I am very proud of our team and the work we have accomplished together over the last few years."
Prior to serving in Nebraska, Phillips was deputy secretary of the Department of Health and Hospitals under former Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana. Her jobs there ranged from a Medicaid program manager to serving as the agency’s chief of staff.
Ricketts said he has started planning to replace Phillips.