Sebelius begins first day as HHS secretary

Sebelius begins first day as HHS secretary

Kathleen Sebelius begins her first day today as Department of Health and Human Services secretary, having garnered Senate confirmation Tuesday evening in a 65-31 vote.
Two hours after the Senate voted to confirm her to the last vacant cabinet post, she was sworn in. The brief ceremony occurred in the Oval Office at 8:02 p.m.
During debate on her nomination earlier that day, Senate Democrats had praised Sebelius as possessing impeccable credentials for the challenges she would face, including a major public health threat with the swine flu and the revamping of a healthcare system that today accounts for 16 percent of the Gross National Product.
Several mentioned preventable medical errors that, according to some studies, result in more than 200,000 deaths a year and cost the country $8.8 billion.
President Barack Obama and many lawmakers are looking to healthcare information technology as one way to improve care, reduce errors and cut costs. Sebelius has been an advocate of healthcare IT.
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