ADSA Reorganization

Greetings:
Today I am pleased to announce the appointment of MaryAnne Lindeblad, Director of the Division of Health Care Services in the Medicaid Purchasing Administration, as the new Assistant Secretary for the Aging and Disability Services Administration effective November 1. MaryAnne brings a unique background, skill set, and experiences that will serve us well as we continue our efforts to build a strong system of care for our elders and persons living with developmental disabilities.
MaryAnne began her career with DSHS in 1977. Her first job was as a nursing care consultant in what is now ADSA. Lindeblad returned to DSHS as a division director in 2002. Prior to that, she served as assistant administrator at the Health Care Authority, where she managed the Public Employee Benefits Board’s programs for about 300,000 active and retired state employees. Earlier, she directed operations for Unified Physicians of Washington, a statewide physician-owned health plan, from 1994 to 1997. She has a master’s degree in public health from the University of Washington.
MaryAnne serves on the Medicaid Managed Care Technical Advisory Group, chairs the Long-Term and Chronic Care Committees of the National Academy for State Health Policy, serves on the Board of the Olympia Free Medical Clinic and the Family Support Center in Olympia, and is a member of the Advisory Board of the Evergreen State College Masters in Public Administration Program.
Under MaryAnne’s leadership, we will maintain our Department-wide commitment to assure that all people live safely, with dignity and fullness of life.
I know you join me in thanking Kathy Leitch for her service as Assistant Secretary of ADSA since 2000 and recognizing her many accomplishments for our state. She has worked tirelessly on behalf of our aging and developmental disability communities her entire career. She is one of a handful of national experts in the field of caring for our elders and people with physical and mental disabilities in their own homes and communities. We are recognized nationally for how far ahead of the nation we are in our home- and community-based system of care in both our long-term care and developmental disabilities systems. Kathy has been courageous and steadfast in her efforts in advocating at the state and national levels to protect vulnerable citizens from abuse, neglect and financial exploitation. She has positioned us well as we now move forward to reform our health care delivery system and further our efforts to increase the capacities of our systems that provide critical services for our elders and persons with physical and developmental disabilities.
In the future, Kathy will be working with MaryAnne on our initiatives to improve the quality of our adult family homes and modernize our adult protective services system. Kathy will also continue her work as we strive to build capacity and improve the quality of care and services we provide to people with developmental disabilities.
MaryAnne, as Director of the Division of Health Care Services in the Medicaid Purchasing Administration, has brought strong, innovative leadership in creating a state chronic care management program founded on targeting resources where they can achieve the best results and on helping consumers manage their own health. MaryAnne is a champion for the health home concept and other programs that focus on improving access to quality, integrated and affordable health care and services for low-income and vulnerable populations.
Last year, she was one of six Medicaid directors chosen nationally to participate in the inaugural class of a Medicaid Leadership Institute. The Institute, launched by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and chaired by former Wisconsin Governor and former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson, is aimed at building leadership in the Medicaid system and helping the state-federal programs serve as national models for high-quality, cost-effective health care.
I look forward to her continued leadership in making sure we maximize all of the many opportunities national health care reform will bring us to further improve the lives of our citizens.
I know that MaryAnne is looking forward to meeting you and all of our many partners as we continue our work together in the future. We are in historic and unprecedented times. Now more than ever we need to be working together to leverage every possible resource so that we continue to move forward as a state that is committed to our most vulnerable citizens.
MaryAnne will begin as Assistant Secretary of ADSA on November 1. Please join me in welcoming MaryAnne to ADSA. I am confident she will do an excellent job for our State.
Susan N. Dreyfus, Secretary
Department of Social and Health Services
October 15, 2010