Gov. Mark Sanford on Tuesday named Robert M. Kerr to head the state Department of Health and Human Services.

Kerr, 42, has served as chief financial officer at the department since 1999. He also has served as director of internal audit and compliance for the agency during his 17 years with the agency. He is both a certified public accountant and a certified management accountant.

Kerr, a 1981 graduate of the University of South Carolina, takes over an agency with a budget of $3.7 billion. The department oversees Medicaid, the health insurance program for the poor and elderly.

Sanford said Kerr will bring fiscal discipline and accountability to the agency.

"He's committed to the concept of structurally reforming our Medicaid system," Sanford said in a statement from his office, "as well as our overall notion of bringing change and accountability to state government."

Kerr, a Columbia native, said he will work toward Sanford's agenda of change.

"I'm committed to that agenda at HHS and look forward to working on the goals he's outlined for this agency -- structural reform, better leveraging federal funds and accountability to the taxpayer," Kerr said in a statement released by Sanford's office.

Efforts to reach Kerr for further comment were unsuccessful Tuesday.