Gov. Kaine names Virginia Beach doctor as state health commissioner

A local hospital executive will be charged with safeguarding Virginians' health beginning next week.

On Tuesday, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine announced the appointment of Dr. Karen Remley as commissioner of the Virginia Department of Health.

She replaces Dr. James Burns, who had served as interim commissioner after Health Commissioner Robert Stroube retired at the end of 2007.

Remley is vice president of medical affairs at Sentara Leigh Hospital in Norfolk. She starts her new post in Richmond on Jan. 22.

Remley, 51, is a pediatrician whose career has included stints with free clinics, corporate health systems, international charities and insurance companies.

She has been in her role with Sentara Leigh for 18 months. She is also an assistant professor for a master's of public health program run by Eastern Virginia Medical School and Old Dominion University.

Remley said one of the first issues she wants to address is the state's expanding waistline.

"We have a major obesity epidemic," she said. "That is an emergency. If we can't get our children to their ideal weight, we will have a burden, both in terms of their quality of life and cost to the commonwealth in the years to come."

She said she also wants to strengthen safety nets such as free clinics, which could relieve overcrowded emergency departments.

In a prepared statement, Kaine said Remley is uniquely qualified for the job as she has experience in both the insurance and the physician realms.

The state commissioner of health is responsible for managing the operations of the state's health department, which employs about 3,600 people and oversees 35 health districts. The administrative post, which has an annual salary of $192,000, also includes coordination of emergency preparedness and response efforts.

Locally, she has worked as a pediatric emergency specialist at Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters, and she has volunteered both as a physician and a board member at The Beach Health Clinic, which serves the uninsured. She has also held key medical positions at international charities Operation Smile and Physicians for Peace.

Dr. Albert Finch, executive medical director at CHKD, said he was excited that "one of our own" was named to the post, both in terms of Remley being a pediatrician and a Hampton Roads resident.

Remley received her medical degree at the University of Missouri in Kansas City, and also received a master's degree in business administration at Duke University.

Remley said she is looking forward to working with state officials and health care providers across the commonwealth.

"What I enjoy most is getting people who are all interested in improving health, but from different perspectives, to come together to find new solutions and then bring them to fruition," she said. "My first role is to learn from them."

Elizabeth Simpson, (757) 446-2635, elizabeth.simpson@pilotonline.com