Gail Vasterling to join Director Mark Stringer’s team as General Counsel at the Department of Mental Health
JEFFERSON CITY – Gov. Jay Nixon today announced he has named Peter Lyskowski as acting director of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, effective October 19, following the announcement of Missouri Department of Mental Health Director Mark Stringer that current DHSS Director Gail Vasterling will be joining that department’s senior leadership team as general counsel.
“Peter is a highly capable public servant with a wealth of experience on issues involving public health and wellbeing,” Gov. Nixon said. “Not only was he an effective Deputy Director of that department, he also worked closely from the Governor’s Office with Gail on coordinating the state’s response to protect Missourians from the Ebola virus in 2014. Missourians can be confident in a seamless transition of highly competent leadership at the top of this vital agency.”
Lyskowski, currently Deputy Chief of Staff in the Office of the Governor, has served in a number of senior leadership positions in the administration, including as Deputy Director of the Department of Health and Senior Services, as Deputy Director of the Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations and as Acting Director of the Division of Workers’ Compensation. He began his public service as an Assistant Attorney General for the state of Missouri. A native of Jefferson City, Lyskowski earned his bachelor’s degree from Truman State University and law degree from the University of Missouri.
“From protecting seniors from abuse and neglect to keeping children safe from disease, Gail has done outstanding work to make Missouri healthier, safer and stronger,” said Gov. Nixon. “I appreciate Gail’s accomplishments during her tenure with the Department of Health and Senior Services, and wish her well as she continues to serve the people of Missouri at the Department of Mental Health.”
During her tenure has Missouri’s Health Director, Vasterling worked on a number of issues to improve public health, increase transparency and make the department more efficient and effective for taxpayers.
Under her leadership, the Missouri Department of Health recently designated 43 Stroke Centers as part of the state’s Time Critical Diagnosis System. This system brings together the 911 response system, ambulance services and hospitals in a coordinated way to provide patients the right care, at the right place, in the right amount of time.
While Director, Vasterling led the effort to ensure the Missouri State Public Health Laboratory received a designation as an Ebola testing lab, which will expedite initial testing of a specimen should there be a potential case. This designation proved especially valuable last November when a potential case at Missouri hospital was able to quickly be tested and found to be negative.
Vasterling also oversaw a significant expansion of Missouri’s newborn screening services. In addition to increasing the number of conditions screened, every newborn infant born in the state will now be screened for critical congenital heart disease. Under Vasterling’s leadership, the department also added eight more hospitals to its system of 46 newborn screen hospital pickup sites throughout the state and added Sunday pickup service, so that samples are tested more quickly, and parents are notified of potential issues sooner.
Last October, Vasterling urged the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to study issues surrounding Coldwater Creek, an area near St. Louis known for environmental contamination and incidences of cancer among area residents. Her efforts led the St. Louis Post-Dispatch to write that Vasterling “may turn out to be a hero for many of those residents.”
To increase transparency and assist parents with selecting the child care setting that best fits their needs, the department, under Vasterling’s leadership, made licensed child care facilities’ most recent inspection reports available online.
Before becoming DHSS director, Vasterling was acting director and deputy director of the department, and also was the liaison to DHSS for the Governor when she served as the Governor’s deputy counsel from April 2010 to January 2012. Prior to joining the Governor’s Office, she was general counsel for the Department of Corrections from January 2009 to April 2010.
Vasterling was with the Attorney General’s Office from 1994 to 2008, eventually becoming chief counsel for the office’s litigation division. She earned her law degree from Washington University School of Law and her undergraduate degree in business administration from the University of Missouri.
Lyskowski will serve as acting director of the department until a permanent director is named.
