Thomas J. Engels is an American politician who served as the Administrator of the

Health Resources and Services Administration The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services located in North Bethesda, Maryland. It is the primary federal agency for improving access to health care services for peop ...

of the

United States Department of Health and Human Services The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the U.S. federal government created to protect the health of all Americans and providing essential human services. Its motto is ...

from 2019 to 2021.

Career

Thomas Engels began his political career as Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson's Deputy Press Secretary. He served in various political roles within Wisconsin, such as working as the Government Affairs Director for the Wisconsin State Telecommunications Association, Vice President of Public Affairs at the Pharmacy Society of Wisconsin, and the Assistant Deputy Secretary at the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services. Serving as the Deputy Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services from 2015 to 2019, Thomas Engels expanded mental health services, implemented an electronic system for managing state medical records, and increased staffing at long-term care facilities. Additionally, he addressed the opioid epidemic during his service on the Governor's Task Force on Opioid Abuse. During Thomas Engels' time serving as Deputy and Acting Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) since April 2019, he was responsible for increasing access to health care for those who are isolated by geography, impoverished, or medically incapable. This office involved providing grants from the federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to state and local governments, medical training programs, and health care providers. He focused on confronting the

opioid epidemic The opioid epidemic, also referred to as the opioid crisis, is the rapid increase in the overuse, misuse/abuse, and overdose deaths attributed either in part or in whole to the class of drugs opiates/opioids since the 1990s. It includes the sign ...

, increasing the workforce providing behavioral health services, and improving medical access for rural communities. He implemented the Provider Relief Fund, providing around $117 billion in payments to medical providers addressing the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. On May 15, 2020 the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

announced Mr. Engels appointment to the

White House Coronavirus Task Force The White House Coronavirus Task Force was the United States Department of State task force during the Trump administration that "coordinate and overs wthe administration's efforts to monitor, prevent, contain, and mitigate the spread" of cor ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Engels, Thomas Living people Administrators of the Health Resources and Services Administration Year of birth missing (living people) Trump administration personnel