Kansas Health Secretary Lee Norman resigns after leading Kansas throughout pandemic
Secretary of Health and Environment Lee Norman is stepping down after leading Kansas through nearly two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, drawing condemnation and praise for his defense of public health measures and communication on the state of the virus.
Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly’s office announced Norman’s departure Friday morning, noting his achievements but remaining silent on the reasons for his departure as the state’s pandemic response continues.
“From the first confirmed case until today, Dr. Norman has played a vital role within this administration to provide guidance and help steer our state’s response to the virus,” Kelly said in a statement.
Norman, the former chief medical officer at the University of Kansas Health System and air force flight surgeon, served as Kelly’s health secretary since she took office in 2019 — becoming a regular presence at news conferences at the onset of the pandemic in March 2020.
But his public profile dwindled earlier this year. His weekly press conferences alongside Kelly stopped in the spring of 2021, and he spoke to reporters on only a handful of occasions.
The Kansas Reflector reported Friday that his limited presence and ultimate departure followed disputes between the Secretary and Kelly’s administration over how to communicate with the public about the pandemic.
According to emails obtained by The Reflector, Kelly’s Chief of Staff, Will Lawrence, ordered Norman to stop speaking to the public without approval in June.
At the time, Kelly’s office was seeking an extension of the state’s COVID-19 state of emergency. Norman, while appearing as a guest during a University of Kansas Health Briefing, said the pandemic would not “magically” disappear with the state of emergency and that federal funds the state was receiving for disease control would continue.
In an email to Norman, the Reflector reported, Lawrence said the secretary had “clearly undercut” the administration’s efforts to get the emergency extended. In a later email, he told Norman to stay in his lane and avoid policy issues.
Norman expressed concerns to Lawrence that the state was often not timely in communicating critical information, allowing confusion and false information to fill the vacuum, according to the Reflector.
Around this time, the Reflector reported, the administration began discussing plans for Norman’s departure.
His exit took at least some in the public health community by surprise.
Dennis Kriesel, Executive Director of the Kansas Association of Local Health Departments, said he had met with Norman Thursday morning and was given no indication the secretary would be leaving his post - they had, in fact, discussed plans for a follow up meeting.
“He always emphasized collaboration which I appreciated,” Kriesel said. “That the Governor’s office would want to control the messaging I don’t think is particularly surprising … We were always still hearing from him, us and the hospitals and other groups.”
While Kelly made decisions on school and business closures and mask requirements, Norman was a chief advisor. He oversaw protective supply management, statewide testing and rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine at the beginning of 2021.
“For the last two years they have gone above and beyond facing unimaginable circumstances to create and execute the framework of the Kansas’ COVID-19 response strategy. While leaving was not an easy decision, I have no doubt that the leadership will maintain a seamless continuity of operations as the agency continues its transition from crisis response to steady state,” Norman said in a statement.
Deputy Secretary Ashley Goss will lead the department as acting secretary until a permanent replacement is chosen. Ximena Garcia, Kelly’s advisor on COVID-19 equity, will serve as the state’s interim chief health officer.
The announcement of Norman’s departure comes the day after Marci Nielsen, a top advisor to Kelly on COVID-19, announced she will be leaving the administration.
“With the pandemic’s gradual shift to ‘steady state,’ the timing is right for me to return to my pre-pandemic plans to work in D.C.,” Nielsen wrote in a Dear Colleague letter Thursday.
Both Norman and Nielsen join a lengthy regional and national list of public health leaders who have left their jobs since the start of the pandemic.
Missouri health secretary Randall Williams stepped down in April. A month later Kansas City Health Department Director Rex Archer announced plans to retire. As of May, a third of Kansas County Health officers had left their posts.
This story was originally published November 19, 2021 at 10:30 AM.
