State DHS director will be leaving post
CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / NOV. 2010
Bridget Holthus, as the former deputy director of the Office of Community Services at the City & County of Honolulu, spoke at a press conference at Honolulu Hale on Nov. 30, 2010. She will be appointed to deputy director of the Department of Human Services.
COURTESY OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
Pankaj Bhanot, who is now deputy director, will serve as the director of the state Department of Human Services, effective Sept. 1. Bhanot’s appointment is subject to Senate approval.
CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM
Department of Human Services Director Rachael Wong spoke at a press conference to address homelessness at the State Capitol on July 21. She will be leaving the department at the end of the month.
Rachael Wong will no longer serve as director of the state Department of Human Services, effective Sept. 1.
Gov. David Ige announced today in a press release that Wong will be leaving the department at the end of the month.
She will be replaced on Sept. 1 by Pankaj Bhanot, who is now deputy director. Bhanot’s appointment is subject to Senate approval.
Taking Bhanot’s place a deputy director will be Bridget Holthus.
According to the press release, “Wong will be taking some time off before pursuing opportunities in the private sector where she can continue to be an advocate for DHS programs that contribute to the state’s public health, education, employment, and housing goals.”
Bhanot has been in the department for 17 years, serving as deputy twice — under Gov. Ige and from Dec. 2010 to Jan. 2012. He has experience in implementing large information technology and human services projects, according to the press release. He previously led a business transformation initiative that won national recognition. He is an attorney who has dedicated his professional life to human rights and human services.
Holthus most recently served as research program liaison at the University of Hawai‘i Cancer Center. She previously served as the deputy director of the Office of Community Services at the City & County of Honolulu, special assistant to the Attorney General, and director of philanthropic services at the Hawai‘i Community Foundation.
“Pankaj Bhanot has been an integral part of the DHS leadership team and is positioned to conduct a seamless transition. Pankaj and Bridget will continue to work closely with director of health, Ginny Pressler, to move forward with the state’s multigenerational approach to improving health outcomes, called ‘Ohana Nui. They will also implement the DHS integrated information system for the entire state, a move that will accelerate the transformation of the way the department does business,” Ige said.
30 responses to “State DHS director will be leaving post”
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Wonder why Wong is really leaving. She was at her appointed position only since about January. What the hell happened??
To spend more time with her family.
Standard shibai reason by so many people who just could not hack their job. Peter Principal strikes again.
Perhaps differences witht eh Governor? This seems odd. She is such a bright person. Accomplished. Hard to know waht really happened.
Nobody cares what you think.
you do hon. No need for personal attacks. Dr. Wong, a Punahou graduate, has been a very fine DHS director. I wish her well but we need her in in state service.
Smarter than Ige so he can’t have that although being smarter than him is not to hard.
Basically everyone in Hawaii is smarter than Ige.
fiveo, come on. She’s been here longer than January. She made her “best three years. Now she’s out. Either that, or she was totally unqualified.
For the record. Twenty do-nothing months.
striker, I stand corrected.
The obviously solution is to raise taxes on State residents, in order to build unlimited numbers of free housing units for anyone in the world who wants to come live in Hawaii.
hahah! exactly!
Too many “Career professionals”.
Burn out? Homelessness is impossible to stop. The solutions are illegal and unconstitutional.
i.e.: send them one way to Guam.
You give them too much credit. They are not that smart.
Between 2010 and 2012, Pankaj Bahnot served under Governor Abercrombie and not Governor Ige. How quickly we forget about Gov Abe?
politics and motives disgusting; what about Maui Little league finalists for Williamsport?
They play Nevada tomorrow. Maui No Ka Oi!!! Good luck boys.
“Spending more time with family” is the usual reason given when someone is asked to resign.
That’s how it goes behind closed doors. “We’re gonna need you to resign….so you can spend some time with your family”. Then it’s not a lie 😉
Probably in part because of the failed Hawaii Health connector?
Bingo!
Dr Wong inherited a huge mess when she accepted the DHS leadership position. It is an impossible challenge to improve this broken system. Best of luck to Pankaj. Perhaps he should brainstorm with that wonderful wizard, Hakim Ouansafi, to turn DHS around as Hakim successfully did at the Housing Authority. Hakim knows how to motivate people. DHS Social Services Division is a toxic, dysfunctional catastrophe that fails administration, employees and the public. A migraine headache for Dr. Wong with too much infighting and ineptitude. Who can do better? Governor Ige needs to clean up DHS from the inside out
Dam. Now we gotta change all our letterheads again, on every official form letter that has her name. New governor, new letter head. New DHS Director, new letter head.
It keeps the State printers verrrrrrrrrrrrry happy.
iwanaknow, no. Each unit prints their own forms. Each unit of 10-15 workers must now replace EVERY form or letter with Wong’s name and input the new Director’s name. If there’s an acting Director, their name gets inputted onto the form(s). When the new Director is appointed, then all the forms get replaced, again. Now who’s happy?
No can handle. Med-Quest eligibility system a disaster of epic proportions, which became an even bigger fiasco during her watch.
The majority within DLIR wants their Director to resign as well. Smart person but a very poor leader.