Richard F. Daines

Richard F. Daines, M.D. is an American doctor who is the Commissioner of Health for New York State, who functions as the head of the New York Department of Health. He was appointed by former Governor Eliot Spitzer and confirmed by the New York State Senate.

Daines graduated from Utah State University in 1974 and served as a missionary for the Church of Latter Day Saints in Bolivia from 1970 to 1972. He then attended medical school at Cornell University Medical College and graduated in 1978. He completed his residency at New York Hospital. Prior to his appointment as health commissioner, Daines was President and CEO of St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center from 2002 to 2007, and Medical Director from 2000 to 2002. Previously, he was Senior Vice President of St. Barnabas Hospital, and a staff member to Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer.