Honoring the late Mary Selecky

We are saddened to hear about the death of former Washington State Secretary of Health Mary Selecky. Mary served as secretary of health under three different governors from 1998-2013. During Mary’s time leading the Department of Health, she championed strong local public health, tobacco prevention, HIV response and vaccinations. Before joining DOH, Mary served as administrator for the Northeast Tri-County Health District for 20 years. She continued to live in Colville even while leading DOH and had deep passion for rural health. Mary championed rural health among other state leaders in Olympia whose perspectives were rooted in urban communities.

WSHA had the pleasure of working with her on many issues; her passion and dedication were infectious. After Mary left DOH, she served as the Providence Community Ministry board chair and as a member of WSHA’s Hospital Governing Boards Committee. Her service to the hospital and to WSHA earned her WSHA’s Joe Hopkins Memorial Award in 2020. We are grateful to have known and worked alongside Mary for so long.