Commissioner Chris Traylor, who was selected by Governor Greg Abbott to head the state’s Health and Human Services system (HHS) in July 2015, is reportedly moving forward with his retirement according to yesterday’s
newswire. Although the Commissioner is departing less than a year after his appointment, the news is not entirely unexpected as he had previously entered a semi-retirement from HHS in May 2015.
Traylor has a long history of public service with over 25 years in various state agencies. In his most recent role as Executive Commissioner, Traylor was hands on in leading the plan for consolidation of five HHS agencies to the new future of one HHS enterprise. Last month, Traylor submitted the HHS systems’ Transition Plan to set the stage for the system transformation to the Transition Legislative Oversight Committee. Traylor has been influential in the plan for restructuring and leaves with a good plan in place for the future of the HHS enterprise. We recognize that Traylor returned to HHS in part to participate in the State system transformation and we appreciate his attention to stakeholder input in that process.
It is uncertain at this time who the next HHS leader will be. News reports suggest that Governor Abbott may select longtime aide Charles Smith to the position. However, no indication of this news or that Traylor is leaving HHS has been published on the HHS State Webpage. We are awaiting official news from the Governors’ Newsroom about who the Governor will select for this important State position.
Texas Association for Home Care and Hospice is especially appreciative of Taylor’s tenacity when working with him directly on home care and hospice issues. We wish him the best in his future endeavors.