Charles Castille reappointed

The Baton Rouge Advocate reports that LASERS trustee-elect Charles Castille has been reappointed to the position of Undersecretary of the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals.

Gov.-elect Bobby Jindal on Tuesday tapped former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush’s health-care czar to lead the Department of Health and Hospitals, the largest state agency.

Jindal rounded out his Cabinet-level team with the appointment of Alan Levine, of Fort Lauderdale, who now heads one of the nation’s largest not-for-profit public health-care systems.

The announcement came during a news conference at which Jindal also said that:

• Longtime DHH lawyer Charles Castille will keep the job of undersecretary, which he has held since 1998.


• Sybil Richard, a New Orleans native who worked with Levine in Florida, would be DHH deputy secretary.

Jindal called it “a team of superstars, each one overqualified for the jobs. … They are ready to hit the ground running, ready to make Louisiana a health-care model for the entire country.”

Mr. Castille will be sworn in as a LASERS trustee at the January 25, 2008, meeting of the LASERS Board of Trustees.