LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — A week after it accepted the resignation of the county’s Public Health officer of less than four months, the Board of Supervisors approved an interim appointment and a contract for a permanent candidate.
Dr. Erik McLaughlin resigned on June 21 following a closed session evaluation with the supervisors, as Lake County News has reported.
McLaughlin’s tenure, which began March 1, was the shortest of any permanently appointed Public Health officer in Lake County in 20 years.
At the start of the board’s Tuesday morning meeting, County Administrative Officer Susan Parker brought to the board a request for an extra item allowing them to consider the interim Public Health officer appointment of Dr. Gary Pace, who held the position until he stepped down in the spring of 2021, and ratification of a physician consultation services contract with Pace.
Parker said that after the board accepted McLaughlin’s resignation last week, Health Services Director Jonathan Portney informed her that there was “an urgent and immediate need for a public health officer or alternate to provide services and to comply with state regulations.”
At the time when the agenda was posted late last week, Parker said she was still evaluating all of their options for filling the Public Health officer position.
To ensure continuity of services, Parker said she temporarily authorized Pace’s appointment and contract and asked for the board to ratify that action on Tuesday.
The board voted unanimously to add the item to the agenda and then took it up immediately.
“After last Tuesday, I began researching our options to retain a public health officer in the interim” while starting a new search to replace McLaughlin, Parker said.
That’s when she heard of the urgent need to fill the Public Health officer position as soon as possible.
Not explained by Parker or staff during the meeting is that state law requires counties to have health officers to enforce local health orders and ordinances, as well as state regulations and statutes relating to public health.
Her written report explained that after McLaughlin’s resignation, “I learned that a replacement would be delayed in order to fully develop the scope and complete the administrative review and State approval.”
She said she was still evaluating the county’s options to ensure continuity of services. “As such, I was unable to confirm the full range of related medical services including the backup PHO [Public Health officer] services until after the posting of this agenda. Therefore, I authorized this very temporary appointment and have now brought the contract to your Board to ratify.”
Parker said Tuesday that she drafted the contract with Pace with the assistance of County Counsel Anita Grant.
The agreement runs from June 22 to July 31, unless renewed in writing before the termination date. It also can be extended annually with mutual written agreement.
Under the agreement’s terms, Pace will be paid a flat rate of $500 per week for on-call coverage, not to exceed $2,000 per month; will receive a rate of $150 per hour for remote working, or on-site or in-county work on Fridays, one day per week or four days per week within the month, not to exceed $4,000 per month; and a total combined compensation not to exceed $6,000.
Supervisor Bruno Sabatier pointed out that the agreement said notices, reports and communications are to be given to Public Health Services, but he said the Public Health officer answers to the Board of Supervisors so he wanted to have a board signature added.
Grant said if the board approved the agreement that a line would be added for the board chair to sign it and indicating formally that the ratification occurred.
She said the board could adjust the agreement as it sees fit, and if the supervisors wanted the communications to come to the County Administrative Office directly, they could change the agreement to reflect that.
Supervisors Moke Simon and Tina Scott both said they agreed with taking that action.
Sabatier moved to appoint Pace as interim Public Health officer and ratify the physician consultation services contract with the amendments. Simon seconded and the board approved it 5-0.
Also on Tuesday, as part of its consent agenda — a slate of noncontroversial items usually accepted with one vote — the supervisors waived the formal bidding process and approved a contract with Mosaic Public Partners for the recruitment of a permanent Public Health officer.
The contract is not to exceed $29,000 and runs through June 30, 2023, unless terminated sooner.
Parker’s memo with the contract explained, “It has been challenging to recruit for a full-time Public Health Officer (PHO) for the County of Lake. This challenge is not unique to Lake County; other counties are experiencing the same challenges due to the repercussions of the COVID-19 health pandemic and the shortage of available health professionals.”
She said based on the responses to the Public Health officer recruitment last year, Human Resources contacted those firms that had submitted proposals and additional ones, for a total of six, and only one qualified firm, Mosaic Public Partners, responded.
“Most firms do not have the capacity to respond as they are currently unavailable to provide the services we need,” Parker wrote.
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Board of Supervisors approves interim Public Health officer appointment, recruitment contract
- Elizabeth Larson
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