PA Acting Health Secretary Leaving, Physician General Will Take Job

Acting Secretary Keara Klinepeter speaking in 2021.
Credit: PA Internet News Service

Pennsylvania Department of Health Acting Secretary Keara Klinepeter will be leaving the post.

Just four months into the high-profile job in Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration, Klinepeter will be departing and existing Pennsylvania Physician General Dr. Denise Johnson will serve as acting secretary.

Klinepeter, who is pregnant with her first child, is leaving the acting secretary job in anticipation of becoming a mother, reported Brett Sholtis, a journalist with Harrisburg-area public media outlet WITF-FM.

“Keara has been an asset to the Department of Health and the Wolf Administration throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, providing necessary leadership and guidance to prepare for the endemic phase of the pandemic,” said Wolf. “Thank you, Acting Secretary Klinepeter, for your leadership. You have helped develop policies, guidance, and best practices to support Pennsylvania’s public health system throughout the pandemic and during this transition that have made the lives of Pennsylvanians better.”

Klinepeter took over after former Acting Secretary Alison Beam left to take a lobbying job. Beam had replaced former Secretary Rachel Levine when she was called up for federal service in January 2021.

Klinepeter previously worked as the executive deputy secretary for the health department and as special advisor to the secretary of health. She had worked on the COVID-19 response and vaccine expansion.

“Thank you to Governor Wolf, the Wolf Administration’s leadership team, and the incredibly dedicated Department of Health employees,” Klinepeter said in a statement. “Working alongside the Department of Health’s devoted staff during a global once-in-a-lifetime pandemic has been an absolute honor. I am proud of the work we have accomplished to better the lives of all Pennsylvanians.”

Johnson, the physician general and an ob-gyn, thanked the governor for appointing her and Klinepeter for her leadership.

“The pandemic has changed many aspects of public health here in Pennsylvania and nationwide. I am honored to the lead the department during this transformative time in public health and I look forward to continuing to work closely with the tremendous employees at the Department of Health and ensuring our health remains a top priority throughout the commonwealth,” Johnson said.