Oklahoma's state health commissioner has resigned after the board accused him of mismanaging the health department's finances.
The board voted at an emergency meeting Monday to accept Terry Cline's resignation and appoint its finance secretary, Preston Doerflinger, as interim commissioner.
The board also said Julie Cox-Kain, Cline's senior deputy commissioner, also has resigned. It also has ordered a special audit of the department.
Cline had served as Oklahoma's health commissioner since June 2009.
According to the Monday statement, the board recently learned that years of over-expenditures and fiscal mismanagement has led the department to face an immediate financial loss.