Gov. David Ige has appointed Dr. Virginia “Ginny” Pressler to head the Department of Health, taking over where Linda Rosen left off.

“Ginny has more than 35 years of experience in the medical field and has held administrative positions for more than two decades,” Ige said in a statement released Friday. “A well-respected member of Hawaii’s medical and business communities, Ginny’s wealth of knowledge and experience equips her to lead the Department of Health.”

Ginny Pressler

Office of the Governor

Pressler’s appointment is subject to Senate confirmation. She is currently the executive vice president and chief strategic officer at Hawaii Pacific Health, the largest health care provider in the state.

Rosen is set to start her new job next week as CEO of the beleaguered Hawaii Health Systems Corp.

Pressler was deputy director of the DOH’s Health Resources Administration from 1999 to 2002. The release says she was instrumental in obtaining 60 percent of the $1.3 billion tobacco settlement fund for public health purposes and initiated the Tobacco Trust Fund, Healthy Hawaii Initiative, Hawaii Outcomes Institute and Hawaii Uninsured Project.

Ige is slowly but surely putting his Cabinet together. He announced six other members on Dec. 3 and a handful of other appointments.