Cathleen D. Bennett was sworn in today as the 20th Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Health. Bennett’s mother, Grace De Marco, held the Bible while the Oath of Office was administered to Bennett by the Honorable Superior Court Judge Karen Suter, a former Commissioner of the Department of Banking and Insurance. Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno, members of the Governor’s Office, family, friends and Department staff were among the 100 guests who attended the ceremony in the auditorium of the Health Department in Trenton.
Cathleen Bennett began serving as Acting Commissioner of the Department of Health on August 3, 2015. Governor Christie formally nominated Bennett as Commissioner on Dec. 14, 2015. She joined the Department as Director of Policy and Strategic Planning in August 2010. As head of Policy and Strategic Planning, she directed strategic public health and healthcare delivery initiatives including healthcare quality assessment, health statistics and informatics, population health and health equity, regional health planning, and health information technology.
Bennett established her top priority shortly after becoming Acting Commissioner by creating an Office of Population Health to promote stronger collaboration among hospitals, local health departments and health care providers. Population health focuses on keeping healthy New Jerseyans well, preventing those at risk from getting sick, and keeping those with chronic conditions from getting sicker. Population health promotes prevention, wellness and equity in all environments across the lifespan, resulting in a healthy New Jersey.
The Commissioner is in the process of convening a Population Health Action Team that will strategize on how the Department can focus efforts to drive improvements on five leading health indicators: Access to Care, Birth Outcomes, Childhood Immunizations, Heart Disease/Stroke and Obesity.
Prior to joining the Department, Bennett spent 20 years as an executive in the private sector, providing consulting, strategy, and management services to federal and state health and human services agencies. Bennett holds a Master of Government Administration from the University of Pennsylvania, a Juris Doctorate from The Dickinson School of Law, and a Bachelor of Arts from Villanova University.
She lives in Haddonfield with her husband and daughter.
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