Director's Office

Sarah Willson, BSN, MBA, FACHE

(573) 751-6001, Debbie Mebruer, Executive Assistant

Sarah Willson was appointed director of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services by Gov. Mike Kehoe on Jan. 14, 2025. Willson brings a wealth of valuable experience to DHSS given her background as a practicing nurse and healthcare executive.

Willson’s healthcare career has been defined by advocating for advancing quality care, developing efficiencies and improving outcomes for patients, as well as collaborating with lawmakers to develop healthcare legislation at the state and federal level. She has led statewide conversations on improving care for children, women, seniors and other vulnerable populations.

Willson was born in Missouri and raised in a rural community. Growing up, she and her family used services at her local public health agency, which introduced her to the importance and power of the public health system.

Prior to joining DHSS, Willson served as Vice President of Clinical and Regulatory Affairs for the Missouri Hospital Association for nearly a decade. She provided clinical and regulatory guidance to more than 140 Missouri hospitals in rural and urban communities, serving as a key expert on licensing, survey processes and compliance for acute care, critical access, long-term care, rehabilitation and psychiatric facilities.

Willson has also held leadership roles with Compassus Hospice and Palliative Care, where she oversaw operations in multiple states and became a Certified Hospice and Palliative Care Administrator. At Capital Region Medical Center, she directed patient care services across several departments.

Richard W. Moore, JD, BA, Deputy Director & General Counsel

Richard W. Moore, JD, BA, is the Deputy Director and General Counsel of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. In this combined role Moore assists with the management of the day-to-day internal operations of DHSS by coordinating operational activities including budget, human resources, emergency response and strategic planning. This position represents the director’s priorities for the advancement of department interests to all departmental employees, as well as at public hearings, legislative hearings, and state and national meetings. Additionally he leads a legal staff of sixteen in-house attorneys and dozens or contract attorneys who represent the department in approximately 1,000 cases before the Administrative Hearing Commission and Circuit Courts on topics such as infectious and communicable diseases, COVID-19, medical marijuana, hospital licensure, long-term care facilities, human resources, food safety, and vital records. He was responsible for the design, drafting and implementation of administrative rules and orders to establish Missouri’s medical marijuana program, MO VIP COVID-19 vaccination incentive, and all orders in relation to COVID-19.

Governor Michael L. Parson appointed Moore to serve as Acting Director of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services on February 1, 2022, during the height of COVID-19. He previously served as General Counsel to the Missouri House of Representatives and the Missouri Treasurer.  Moore received his B.A. in Political Science/History from Columbia College and his JD from Southern Illinois University – Carbondale School of Law.

Tim Van Zandt, Deputy Director

Tim Van Zandt, RN, MPA, is a deputy director for the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, supporting Director Willson and several DHSS divisions. He joined our team after more than 20 years of health care experience, which included nursing, accounting and government affairs roles. Tim put his registered nursing degree to work in the medical-surgical unit for John’s Hopkins Medicine and on the surgical trauma unit at Indiana University Health.

Tim served as a state representative for four terms, providing fiscal oversight as a member of the House Budget Committee focusing on DHSS and the Department of Mental Health. He also chaired the historic joint committee on the Missouri Tobacco Settlement funds.

Most recently, Tim served for a decade as vice president of Government and Community Relations for St. Luke’s Health System where he used his experience as a lawmaker to influence change in public policy. He leveraged his skills in finance, compliance and quality improvement in a nearly 25-year career at St. Luke’s. He was responsible for leading internal and external communications concerning governmental affairs issues, directed and coordinated system response to proposed regulatory and legislative actions, supervised activities relating to the development of Community Health Needs Assessments (CHNAs) and the Missouri Health Facilities Review Committee (CON). Prior to working in government and community relations, Tim served as a corporate compliance analyst where he led investigations into Medicare compliance and analyzed denied claims. He also served as the director of revenue cycle management where he led a variety of process analyses centered on revenue enhancement and supervised the charging standardization process for St. Luke’s, which resulted in the realization of a substantial increase in patient revenues.

Tim holds a BSE in Accounting and minor in Political Science from the University of Central Missouri, a MPA in Health Care Administration from the University of Missouri Kanas City, and an Associates of Science in Nursing from Montgomery College.