Director of State Abuse Investigatory Agency Leaves After Court Issues Order Citing Credible Threat to Physical Safety of Former Colleague Who Alleged Cyber Stalking, Domestic Abuse
Shortly After, According to Court Documents, Dan Lanari Had Been Fired by Lovelace, Governor and HCA Secretary Hired Him to Run Sensitive Abuse Investigatory Agency.
This reporting will be updated.
“As of April 30, 2025, I am no longer with the Health Care Authority … It was an incredible experience [to] serve in this role and to make an impact on the health and safety of all New Mexicans. Kindly, Dan.”
Those were the parting words of New Mexico Division of Health Improvement Director Dan Lanari, the leader of New Mexico’s agency responsible for health safety and improvement, as he walked away after less than nine months on the job.
Lanari did not indicate the reasons for his abrupt departure from a job he started barely eight months earlier.
Last week, when The Candle first published a story on Lanari’s departure, we tried calling him, but a man answering the phone hung up and did not return a further request left on the phone’s voicemail seeking the reason for Lanari leaving the job.
That same day, The Candle also emailed Marina Piña, the communications director of the New Mexico Health Care Authority, and Secretary Kari Armijo, who hired Lanari, seeking a comment as to Lanari leaving so quickly.
HCA Communication Director Marina Piña and Secretary Kari Armijo Continue to Ignore Questions Regarding Lanari’s Sudden Departure
Early last evening, a source suggested that Lanari may have left due to matters related to incidents of harassment in the workplace for which the source understood he was fired by his previous employer, Lovelace Health System.
The source also thought matters related to the harassment may have ended up the subject of a court proceeding.
The lead from our source was accurate.
According to records filed in New Mexico’s Second Judicial Court in Albuquerque, a former Lovelace colleague of Lanari filed a petition for an Order of Protection on March 17, 2025, citing a series of events beginning in 2022, when they both worked at Lovelace, through March 13, 2025, leading to her feeling threatened.
Between July 3, and July 9, of 2024, according to events described in the Court documents, an investigation of accusations of sexual harassment conducted by the Human Resources department of Lovelace, led to Lanari’s termination as an employee and he was instructed by Lovelace leadership “that he was not to contact any Lovelace employees or enter Lovelace facilities unless it was a medical emergency.”
A review of the timeline laid out in the Court documents, state employee records covering July and August of 2024, as well as Secretary Armijo’s press release announcing her hiring of Lanari to run the state agency that investigates abuse at health facilities and licensing of hospitals, show that Lanari was apparently hired just weeks after he was terminated by Lovelace.
Last evening, after reviewing the Court documents, The Candle called and emailed Marina Piña, and emailed Secretary Armijo and Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham and her communications team seeking a statement as to whether Secretary Armijo and the Governor were aware of the reasons Mr. Lanari was fired from Lovelace before they hired him, and if not who conducted the search and interviews of Mr. Lanari.
When HCA Secretary Kari Armijo announced the hiring of Lanari as the new Director for the Division of Health Improvement, she stated via a press release,
“Dan Lanari has over 10 years of experience in leading healthcare quality and patient safety initiatives in New Mexico. With a Doctorate in Physical Therapy and an MBA in Rural Healthcare Leadership, Lanari is focused on making healthcare safer and more effective for all New Mexicans.“
At the time Armijo appointed Lanari – which was done in consultation with, and the consent of Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham – the salary for the position was increased by $17,000, with Lanari being paid $150,000/year compared to Burmeister’s annual pay of $133,000.
The agency impacts the lives of thousands of New Mexicans every day.
According to its website, the Division of Health Improvement “is responsible for ensuring regulatory compliance across diverse health services, including licensing health care facilities, oversight of home and community based Medicaid waiver program providers, conducting investigations of abuse, neglect and exploitation, running background checks for caregivers, operating a nurse aide program, and overseeing lab certification for safety and health rules.”
The Candle will update this story later today.
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