Gov. Phil Murphy recently named Jeff Brown — the current Deputy Commissioner for Health Systems at the New Jersey Department of Health — as Acting Health Commissioner, succeeding Kaitlan Baston, who will serve as the interim CEO of University Hospital.
“Jeff Brown is a tested public servant who has spent his career working to uplift New Jersey’s health care infrastructure, and I am thrilled that he will serve as Acting Commissioner of the Department of Health,” Murphy said. “Through his advocacy and leadership, Jeff has played an important role in ensuring New Jerseyans have a trusted public health system and access to high-quality health care. I am confident that his experiences will serve him well at the helm of the Department of Health.”
“I look forward to maintaining the Department’s commitment to protecting public health, improving the quality of health care, and supporting the delivery of critical services to promote healthy New Jersey communities,” Brown said.
In his role as the Deputy Commissioner of Health Systems at the New Jersey Department of Health Brown oversees inspections and the enforcement of regulations for approximately 2,200 licensed New Jersey health care facilities; over 2,700 mental health and addiction services and programs; the Certificate of Need Program; the Office of Health Care Affordability and Transparency; and major hospital funding programs such as Charity Care, Graduate Medical Education and the Quality Improvement Performance Program.
Prior to becoming Deputy Commissioner, Brown served as the first Executive Director of the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission, where he was responsible for organizational strategy, policy, and management of a new State commission, and as Assistant Commissioner for Medicinal Marijuana under the Department of Health.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Brown served as the Department of Health’s lead in establishing the Atlantic City Field Medical Site and was a member of the Department of Health’s COVID-19 testing task force.
Before his time at the Department of Health and the Cannabis Regulatory Commission, Brown worked extensively on the passage and implementation of the Affordable Care Act, particularly the creation of health insurance exchanges and the expansion of Medicaid.
