Department of Health Secretary Patrick Allen speaks to a legislative committee in March 2023. He stepped down Wednesday, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grishamās office announced.
Department of Health Secretary Patrick Allen speaks to a legislative committee in March 2023. He stepped down Wednesday, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grishamās office announced.
New Mexico Health Secretary Patrick Allen abruptly stepped down Wednesday after less than two years on the job, the latest in a long string of Cabinet secretaries Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has lost or pushed out during her tenure.
Lujan Grisham announced Allenās departure in a news release but offered no reason for his exit. The news release stated Allen would āstep down from his position at the end of the day,ā leaving several lawmakers in shock.
āWe were all looking at our devices during the [Legislative Health and Human Services Committee] meeting trying to figure out what the heck is going on,ā said Sen. Jerry Ortiz y Pino, an °®¶¹app Democrat who chairs the committee.
āJust yesterday, we had been talking about how he seemed to be one of the few appointees who had stuck around and seemed to be in the governorās favor,ā Ortiz y Pino added.
Rep. Liz Thomson, also an °®¶¹app Democrat and the committeeās vice chair, said she was sad Allen was leaving.
āItās shocking that it was as of [Wednesday],ā she said. āIāve been going through it in my brain, like is it something medical? Is it something personal? Was it being fired? I have no idea. I have no information on any of it, so Iām guessing along with everybody else.ā
In a brief statement, Lujan Grisham called Allen a dedicated public servant.
āIām grateful for his contributions as secretary for the Department of Health,ā she said. āI wish him well in his next endeavor.ā
Allen, the fourth health secretary under the Lujan Grisham administration, declined a request for an interview or to disclose why he was leaving.
āI think Iām just going to let the governorās statement stand on its own,ā he said.
Gina DeBlassie, the governorās health policy adviser, will serve as interim Cabinet secretary.
āDeBlassie brings more than 30 years of healthcare expertise,ā a news release states. āThroughout her career, she has been a driving force behind legislation to improve healthcare access across New Mexico. Her leadership efforts have been instrumental in establishing the Health Care Authority and the Rural Health Care Delivery Fund.ā
DeBlassie is at least the third member of the governorās staff to be tapped to lead a department after the departure of a Cabinet secretary.
Teresa Casados, the governorās former chief operating officer, is now serving as secretary of the Children, Youth and Families Department, and Mariana Padilla, former director of the New Mexico Childrenās Cabinet, is now in charge of the Public Education Department.
āAll [three departments are] staffed by people that basically have never run big departments before but were basically aides to the governor,ā Ortiz y Pino said.
Allen, former director of the Oregon Health Authority, came to New Mexico after essentially being pushed out of his job there, according to published reports.
Before winning election, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek indicated she might replace Allen, as did the other candidates in the gubernatorial race.
At the time of his hiring in New Mexico, the Governorās Office touted Allenās more than 30 years in public service.
āPatrick is a regulator and public health professional with a proven record in improving health care systems, and I have full confidence he will do the same here in New Mexico,ā Lujan Grisham said in a statement then. āHe shares my vision of a New Mexico that fosters better health outcomes for every resident of our beautiful state.ā
As Lujan Grisham approaches the final two years of her second and final term in office, Thomson said she hopes there wonāt be more turnover in her administration.
āWe havenāt had a lot of stability in our Cabinet positions, and I donāt think we as a state can do our best work when thereās a new boss every year or six months or whatever,ā she said.
āOf course, if people are doing a horrible job, you get rid of them,ā Thomson added. āBut continuity and the culture and all of that stuff I think requires some time being there, and itās disappointing the number of Cabinet secretaries that have come and gone.ā
Ortiz y Pino said Allen did a ādecent jobā but was āsomewhat disappointed at the lack of a sense of urgencyā the department showed at issues it faced, including expanding drug and alcohol treatment.
When lawmakers suggested different ideas to expand capacity, Allen indicated the department would or could consider them.
āThat was two years ago. Nothing,ā Ortiz y Pino said. āMaybe they considered it and rejected it. But if they did reject it, thatās pretty sad commentary.ā
Ortiz y Pino said he liked Allen personally.
āWe got along just fine, and he was always very forthcoming at the committee meetings with information,ā he said. āBut it wasnāt always information that indicated progress was being made, so I guess itās been kind of a just status quo kind of department during his tenure.ā
Ortiz y Pino, however, said Allen did a āgreat jobā by expanding medication-assisted treatment services for substance use to more than 30 public health offices across the state.
āItās not fully in place yet, but itās going to happen,ā he said.
Thomson said Allen generally did a good job.
āLike anyone else, he had his ups and downs,ā she said.
Ortiz y Pino echoed the sentiment.
āItās not been all bad,ā he said. āI donāt think there would have been grounds to be highly critical of him, but there was just not a lot of good stuff happening.ā
