Gov. Rick Scott Names Health Agency Heads

On Monday, Gov. Rick Scott announced his picks to head up two agencies he would like to merge, naming Dr. Frank Farmer as Florida's surgeon general and keeping Liz Dudek on as the secretary of the Agency for Health Care Administration.

As surgeon general, Dr. Farmer will also oversee the Department of Health, which Gov. Scott has sought to consolidate with AHCA and other state agencies.

Gov. Scott praised Dudek's past work and Dr. Farmer's experience in the medical corps of the U.S. Army, as chairman of the Florida Board of Medicine, and as president of the Florida Medical Association.

"Liz is an effective and hard-working leader at AHCA, and she will help me reorganize the states health care agencies to increase efficiency. Dr. Farmer brings an impressive track record of medical leadership to the Department of Health, and he will further the agency's important mission to promote, protect and improve the health of all people in Florida," Scott said.