Elizabeth Duke (administrator)

Elizabeth M. Duke was the administrator for the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) from March 6, 2002 to February 28, 2009.

HRSA is one of 11 operating divisions in the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The agency uses its $7 billion annual budget (FY 2007) to expand access to quality health care for all Americans through an array of grants to state and local governments, community-based health care providers, and health professions training programs. These HRSA-supported grantees provide direct health care services to 20 million people each year.

Duke led HRSA's implementation of President Bush's Health Center Initiative, which has created or expanded 1,100 service delivery sites since 2001 and boosted the number of patients served annually at health centers from about 10 million in 2001 to 15 million in 2006. HRSA-supported health centers deliver high-quality preventive and primary care to patients regardless of their ability to pay at 4,000 sites across the United States.

HRSA recently implemented another Presidential initiative meant to extend health center services to an estimated 300,000 residents in some of America's poorest counties. Eighty grants worth more than $40 million were awarded in August 2007 to bring the benefits of health centers to low-income counties that do not currently have access to health center care.

Duke also led federal efforts to boost organ donation. Since 2003, the HRSA-sponsored Organ Donation Breakthrough Collaborative has brought together donation professionals and hospital leaders to share ways to raise donation rates in their facilities to 75 percent of eligible organ donors.