A Cooper University Health Care physician will be nominated as N.J.’s new health commissioner

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said Tuesday he plans to nominate Kaitlan Baston, a Cooper University Health Care doctor who specializes in addiction medicine, to be the next commissioner of the state’s Department of Health.

Baston founded a center at Cooper that includes integrated pain, addiction, and behavioral health care. She is expected to succeed Judy Persichilli, who is retiring after having led the department since 2019. The health department regulates health care providers and administers many of the state’s health care policies.

“I have spent my career focused on addiction services, maternal and child health, and improving equity through health care in the community, and I am fully committed to using those experiences to create a healthy, equitable state for all,” Baston said in the governor’s news release. She was not available for an interview.

A graduate of Thomas Jefferson University’s Sidney Kimmel Medical College, Baston has taken special interest in addiction treatment immediately before and after birth and how to integrate addiction treatment into primary care.

Baston is an “an exceptional leader who has dedicated her career to serving others,” said Kevin O’Dowd, co-CEO of Cooper University Health Care. “This new position will allow her to make a positive impact on the health of people across New Jersey.”