LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Arkansas Health Secretary Dr. José Romero announced he is resigning from the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH).
Governor Asa Hutchinson made the announcement during a press conference Tuesday, April 5.
Dr. Romero previously served as Chief Medical Officer for the ADH and was appointed as the interim secretary of health by Gov. Hutchinson in May 2020 after former Secretary of Health Dr. Nate Smith accepted a position with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
He was given the health secretary position in August of 2020 as the nation was becoming plagued with COVID-19. He stood by the governor's side during daily press conferences regarding the virus and throughout the past two years.
"Any success that I've had, modicum of success I've had, in this position is really the result of the work of the governor, the staff and ADH and any missteps or failures are clearly on my shoulders," Dr. Romero said.
He went on to thank his chiefs of staff and other colleagues for their efforts in helping provide information to the governor during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We've all talked about the health care providers as being heroes, what's not said often enough is that the public health officials are also the heroes of this," Dr. Romero said. "They've given up their weekends, working continuously, given up their vacations, to sift and go through the data necessary to make decisions and without them we would've been in a very weak position."
He continued by saying all of the health department staff and personnel are truly heroes for their efforts during the pandemic. Dr. Romero thanked the public and those Arkansans who sent him letters and comments encouraging him during some of the darkest times of the pandemic.
May 6 will be Dr. Romero's last day serving the state of Arkansas. After that, he will be taking a job with the CDC in Atlanta.
“Whenever we have someone of such talent and experience and wisdom, that he’s looked at from a national perspective,” Gov. Hutchinson said.
The governor says Dr. Romero will serve our nation in a similar way that he has served our state for the past two years.
An interim secretary of health has not been named at this time.
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