BATON ROUGE — Governor John Bel Edwards announced that he's accepted the resignation of Department of Health Secretary, Dr. Rebekah Gee, effective January 31. 

Gee has taken a new job, which will be announced by her employer at a later date.

Gov. Edwards spoke highly of Dr. Gee, saying, “On my first day in office, I signed an executive order expanding Medicaid and since day one Dr. Gee has been on the front lines of this transformational improvement to health care in Louisiana."

"Under her leadership, we brought health care to more than 460,000 hard-working adults who now have access to the medical services they need to live healthier lives, to fight chronic illness and, in some cases, survive.”

Dr. Gee is also credited with leading efforts to reform drug pricing and ensuring that people with developmental disabilities were no longer required to wait for essential services. 

Dr. Gee released a statement saying she intends to remain in Louisiana as she takes on her new role. 

“It has been a tremendous honor to serve the people of Louisiana as the Secretary of Health," Dr. Gee stated, in part. " I look forward to remaining in this great state and continuing my work of improving the lives and healthcare of all our residents.”