For Immediate Release, September 8, 1999
Contact: Gwenda Bond (502)564-2611
  or Barbara Hadley-Smith at Health Services (502)564-6786

Governor Paul Patton announced today that Jimmy D. Helton will bring the expertise of his 30-year career in health care administration to Kentucky as Secretary of the Health Services Cabinet.

Governor Patton made the announcement at a news conference at the state capital. "We’ve always held our administrators to the highest standards, seeking the best and brightest we could find to help our state meet its unique challenges. Secretary Helton brings us the wealth of experience accumulated during his distinguished career in the health care field, which will be invaluable in making sure the people of this state are provided access to the highest possible quality of health services."

Secretary Helton said, "My goal is to always bear in mind those people whose health care needs are met by state health services. I intend to work to provide all Kentuckians with compassionate and dignified care."

A Corbin, Kentucky native, Secretary Helton comes to the cabinet from the Principal position at Health Care Management Consulting Services in Colorado, where since 1992 he has provided advice and assistance to health care providers in preparing contract proposals, network development, conducting feasibility studies for new business, developing organizational structure, and in shaping client operations policies and procedures. He began his distinguished career in the health care industry in the United States Army, serving first as the Professional Services Administrator at Brooke Army Medical Center in Texas, and later as Executive Director of the Colorado-based Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS), a $3 billion health insurance program that serves more than 7 million people worldwide.

Following his 1989 military retirement, Secretary Helton held several top positions in various areas of the health care industry. A 1959 Eastern Kentucky University graduate, he also holds a Master’s in Health Care Administration from the University of Arizona and completed The Wharton School’s Managed Care Senior Executive Education Program.

Secretary Helton said. "As a uniformed military member, my family and I were also beneficiaries of the program which I ran. Being on both sides of the operation gave me a different perspective, which will allow me to better identify with the people I’ll be serving."

Secretary Helton replaces John H. Morse, a member of Governor Patton’s original Executive Cabinet who announced his plans to leave the administration in August to serve as a Senior Fellow at the University of Louisville School of Medicine. Secretary Helton will assume his new post October 1^st.