There’s a new chief in town at DHEC. Meet Rick Toomey
The state Senate voted Tuesday to confirm retired Lowcountry hospital executive Rick Toomey as director at the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control, an often-criticized agency that has been without a permanent director since the summer of 2017.
Toomey, who met with every senator before his confirmation, succeeds Catherine Heigel, a former power company executive credited with making improvements at DHEC.
In a statement issued by DHEC, the 64-year-old Toomey called the agency “a great organization’’ that he looks he looks forward to leading.
“DHEC has the enormous responsibility of promoting and protecting the health of the public and the environment,” said Toomey. “I’m eternally humbled and honored to have the opportunity.’’
Toomey, who grew up in Greenville, is the former chief executive at Beaufort Memorial Hospital. His background is in health care administration and as a health-care consultant. He attended Duke University and the Medical University of South Carolina.
Toomey’s confirmation was expected. However, there were questions about why the DHEC board chose Toomey, a one-time board member, to lead the agency. The DHEC board abandoned a nationwide search last fall after getting 108 applications for the post.
Some agency critics questioned the circumstances around Toomey’s hiring for the $178,000-a-year job. But a Senate screening committee sent his nomination to the full Senate, saying it was impressed with his qualifications. During his confirmation hearing, no lawmaker asked Toomey why the board he formerly served on picked him to run the agency.
DHEC is one of South Carolina’s largest agencies. With more than 3,000 employees, it has broad-ranging duties, including issuing air and water pollution permits, overseeing hospital expansions, issuing birth certificates, regulating tattoo parlors and studying water quality.
The department often draws criticism from businesses that say it is too tough on them, and from environmentalists who say the department doesn’t do enough to protect the environment.
“Rick’s more than 32 years of leadership experience in the health-care industry, coupled with his in-depth familiarity with DHEC, make him uniquely qualified to lead the department as it continues its current positive path forward,’’ DHEC board chairman Mark Elam said in a statement.
This story was originally published February 26, 2019 at 5:52 PM.
