State Senate Reconfirms Secretary of Health Retta Ward
Today the New Mexico state Senate voted 37-to-0 to reconfirm New Mexico Department of Health Secretary Retta Ward.
Ward has served as the Cabinet Secretary of the Department of Health since January 2013. Prior to that, she served as Cabinet Secretary of the Aging and Long Term Services Department.
During her time at the Department of Health:
- New Mexico was just one of 14 US states and territories to report a decline in adult obesity rates, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
- New Mexico’s teen birth rate decreased 10 percent in just the span of one year.
- New Mexico became just the second state in the country to implement the BrdsNBz Text Messaging Service allowing teens to text “NMTeen” and parents text “NMParent” to 66746 to text their sexual health questions and get medically accurate answers within 24 hours.
"I would like to thank Governor Martinez and the New Mexico Senate for their endorsement of my work with the Department of Health,” said Secretary Ward, MPH. “I am thrilled to continue my service to the people of New Mexico and humbled by the support I have received. I am blessed to work with such a dedicated group of professionals, who are committed to making New Mexico a healthier place to live.”
In addition to her service as Secretary of the Department of Health and the Aging and Long-Term Services Department, Ward worked as an educator and health professional. She previously managed the Arthritis Program for the Arizona Department of Health Services and worked as a health educator for Albuquerque Public Schools. In addition to her public health background, Ward has experience as a manager with the Hertz Corporation in Albuquerque, Chicago and New York. Ward was the head of Operations Training for Hertz Rent-a-Car, overseeing the corporation’s 14 training centers located throughout the country.
Ward earned her undergraduate degree in Health Education from the University of New Mexico and a Master of Public Health degree from the University of Arizona.
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El Senado del Estado Reconfirma a la Secretaria de Salud Retta Ward