COLUMBIA — The previous speaker of the South Carolina House of Reps has a new career as main govt liaison for the state’s most significant well being treatment company.
Republican Jay Lucas of Hartsville starts his purpose July 25 as Prisma Health’s senior vice president for authorities affairs, the enterprise mentioned in a media launch.
The announcement will come three months just after Lucas officially resigned from the Residence. The 64-12 months-old legal professional made a decision before this calendar year not to find re-election to the seat he is held for 24 a long time.
Lucas’ previous day as speaker was May well 12, the past day of the 2022 standard legislative session, ending his eight-12 months tenure top the chamber. He voluntarily stepped down early, returning for two just one-day specific classes previous month devoid of a title. He mentioned he relished being back on the floor with his colleagues as his longtime mate and recently elected Property Speaker Murrell Smith of Sumter presided.
Faced with figuring out his upcoming move, Lucas mentioned he regarded as tons of possibilities just before accepting the present from Prisma as a probability to improve health and fitness care entry.
“It was important for me in analyzing work opportunities to do some thing I thought could reward South Carolina,” he explained to The Write-up and Courier pursuing the July 20 announcement. “At the finish of the working day, the option to function for the premier health treatment employer in South Carolina was very pleasing to me.
“When you’re from rural South Carolina, you comprehend what it can be like not to have physicians, nurses and all those pros in your location,” he ongoing. “The option for me to perform a job in increasing the health of the citizens of South Carolina and producing this essential function force for generations to come was just incredible.”
In his part, Lucas will be advising Prisma’s final decision-makers on community, state and federal health care procedures that impression South Carolina. He will not be lobbying his previous colleagues, he reported.
Condition legislation demands legislators to wait just one yr soon after leaving business right before returning to the Statehouse as a lobbyist.
Prisma Overall health previously employs six lobbyists at the Statehouse, according to state Ethics Commission filings.
“I have had no motivation to be a lobbyist,” Lucas mentioned. “It was vital for me to go perform with individuals who wished me for what I know, not for who I know.”
He said he envisions investing a lot of his time in Prisma’s network, which consists of 18 hospitals and 300 outpatient web pages throughout the Upstate, Midlands and Sumter.
“Jay is a remarkably revered leader who is effectively-recognized for his ability to create effective interactions among the varied constituencies to achieve positive outcomes,” Mark O’Halla, CEO of Prisma Health, reported in the launch.
“He is the perfect person to assistance us realize our objective of strengthening the health and wellbeing of South Carolinians by doing the job with policymakers and regulatory organizations in Columbia, in Washington, D.C., and in the community municipalities that Prisma Health and fitness phone calls home.”
