Dr. Virginia “Ginny” Pressler is retiring as state health director at the end of the month, and Bruce Anderson will reprise his role as head of the Department of Health in the interim.

Pressler’s retirement is effective May 31, her 69th birthday.

“I’m excited. It’s time. My husband wants me to retire, and we want to spend more time with all the things we enjoy such as stand-up paddling, being on the trails, traveling and reading,” said Pressler, who has led the Health Department since December 2014. “I want to learn about a lot of new things I never had time for. I want to learn more history, more current events, geography, even. I was always so focused on the job I was doing that I’ve had blinders on the rest of the world.”

Pressler said she has enjoyed working for Gov. David Ige and serving the people of Hawaii.

Her accomplishments include planning for the rebuilding of the Hawaii State Hospital, for which there will be groundbreaking this summer, and investing in community-based behavioral health programs that must still be integrated into primary care, she said.

“I accepted the appointment 3-1/2 years ago because I wanted to give back to the state that I love so much,” she said. “I knew that we could make a difference in public health, and I have not been disappointed.”

Anderson, who was Pressler’s boss at the DOH about 15 years ago, said he is looking forward to putting his public health education and experience to work again.

“I feel like I’m going back to my roots,” said Anderson, who has worked as administrator of the Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Division of Aquatic Resources for nearly three years and previously was president and CEO of Hawaii Health Systems Corp., the state hospital system. “It’s a nice opportunity to get back to what I have been trained to do. It’s a great opportunity to serve the state in protecting both health and the environment. I certainly have a lot of listening and catching up to do over the next few months.”

Anderson, a Punahou School and Yale University graduate, has a master’s degree in public health and a Ph.D. in biomedical sciences from the University of Hawaii.