Scott Rivkees, the state’s surgeon general and Department of Health secretary who has been mostly absent from public view for more than a year, even amid the COVID-19 pandemic’s delta variant surge, is stepping down as the state’s top doctor.
Rivkees will leave after his contract runs out Sept. 20, three months after his original two-year contract ended.
“The contract was extended to the full extent of our abilities in law,” Christina Pushaw, Gov. Ron DeSantis’ press secretary, confirmed via email Thursday evening. “We thank Dr. Rivkees for his meaningful work during the most challenging pandemic of our lifetime. We appreciate his service to the people of Florida and wish him the best in his future endeavors.”
She added that an announcement would be made when a replacement is found for Rivkees, whose departure was first reported by Florida Politics.
“It has been an honor to serve the people of Florida the past two years,” Rivkees said in a statement issued by the Health Department. He expressed gratitude to all the front line health care workers and public health professionals who responded to the pandemic over the last 500 days.
“We responded to COVID-19 with an all hands on deck approach,” Rivkees said. He also thanked the governor for “the opportunity to serve Floridians in this incredibly vital role … I am humbled and proud to have been part of your team.”
In another email, Health Department spokesperson Weesam Khoury called Rivkees “integral to the state’s response to COVID-19.” During his tenure as state surgeon general, more than 12 million eligible Floridians have been vaccinated, including 86% of the state’s population over 65, she said.
“Before the availability of COVID-19 vaccines, Dr. Rivkees supported Governor DeSantis’ mission to protect the vulnerable by deploying infection control strike teams to limit the spread of COVID-19 in long-term care facilities statewide – an effort that ultimately saved many lives among Florida’s most vulnerable residents,” Khoury said.
“The Department wishes Dr. Rivkees the best of luck as he continues his professional endeavors, and thanks him for his leadership and expertise over the past two years.”
Previous coverage:
Rivkees maintained UF professorship while with state
Rivkees was chair of the pediatrics department at the University of Florida College of Medicine and physician-in-chief of UF Health Shands Children’s Hospital when DeSantis tapped him to be the state’s top doc on April 1, 2019.
The selection of Rivkees drew immediate criticism because of a 2014 harassment complaint, first reported by the News Service of Florida, which delayed a vote on his confirmation by a year when then-Senate President Bill Galvano said the allegations were serious enough to look into. Rivkees’ attorney said he acknowledged making inappropriate comments and had “moved on” from the incident, according to reports.
By the time the Senate confirmed Rivkees by a 31-9 vote on March 13, 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic had hit Florida.
Under the terms of the contract — signed June 19 and June 20, 2019 — the state paid UF $35,000 a quarter, or $140,000 a year, for Rivkees’s time and services while he retained full professor status and salary at UF. His UF salary at the start of the contract was nearly $547,000 a year, but records show his salary for 2020-21 was reduced to $242,721 a year.
State law allows an “employee interchange agreement” between state agencies for up to two years, with a three-month extension if agreed upon by all parties involved.
Agreements involving faculty of a state university can be extended every two years upon approval by the Department of Management Services unless the appointing agency is the governor, or governor and cabinet. In that case, the person’s assignment or detail shall not exceed two years “plus an extension of 3 months or the number of years left in the term of office of the Governor, whichever is less.”
His public appearances started becoming less frequent in April 2020. That was when he was walked out of a news briefing in the Florida Capitol’s Cabinet room after he said people would have to continue social distancing until a vaccine could be approved.
“So as long as we’re going to have COVID in the environment, and this is a tough virus, we’re going to have to practice these measures so that we are all protected,” Rivkees said, adding it could be a year or more before a vaccine was available.
Helen Aguirre Ferre, then the governor’s communications director, walked over to Rivkees and whispered in his ear. Rivkees said “OK” before Ferre escorted him out.
While Rivkees has made few public appearances since then, he has signed several orders in response to the pandemic.
Fewer public appearances, even amid surge
Reporters and lawmakers have speculated for weeks about Rivkees’ whereabouts as DeSantis has been barnstorming the state, opening monoclonal antibody treatment clinics. Dr. Kenneth Scheppke, chief medical officer for the Division of Emergency Management, has instead accompanied DeSantis at some of those press conferences.
Khoury said Rivkees has led the monoclonal antibody site mission from the start, and signed a standing order to allow the treatment to be administered without the referral of a physician. “If an individual meets the eligibility of the EUA, they are able to get treatment,” she said.
Meantime, a group of four retired pediatricians published an op-ed piece in the Gainesville Sun on Monday calling for Rivkees to step down, even after extolling his 33-year career and research for the National Institutes of Health.
Opinion:Dr. Scott Rivkees is no longer suited to be Florida’s surgeon general | Guest column
They wondered why Rivkees was not holding town hall meetings in communities with low vaccination rates to get people to overcome their vaccine hesitancy.
They also criticized him for not advocating the position of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that schools require all staff and students over the age of 2 to wear a mask unless they have a medical or developmental reason not to wear one.
“We have been hoping that Dr. Rivkees chose to work for Gov. DeSantis so that he could exert influence on the governor’s policies in a medically sound direction,” they wrote.
“However, we now feel that his public silence as the pandemic surges speaks volumes as to why he is no longer suited to be surgeon general.”
Jeffrey Schweers is a capital bureau reporter for USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida. Contact Schweers at jschweers@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @jeffschweers.
Full statement from Dr. Scott Rivkees
“It has been an honor to serve the people of Florida the past two years. The Florida Department of Health is an agency with 12,000 dedicated and passionate public health experts that have responded to this pandemic for more than 500 days – alongside staff from the Division of Emergency Management, Agency for Health Care Administration and all of our other sister agencies.
“We responded to COVID-19 with an all hands on deck approach. This then allowed us to transition the response to be led by the Department of Health. I’d like to thank Governor DeSantis for the opportunity to serve Floridians in this incredibly vital role.
“I also would like to reiterate my gratitude and appreciation to the health care and public health professionals that have remained on the front lines of this response. Your tireless work and dedication has saved countless lives. I am humbled and proud to have been part of your team.”
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Scott Rivkees, Florida surgeon general under Ron DeSantis, to step down