Washington County Board of Health debates whether to bring in interim Public Health director

In a special Friday morning work session, members of the Washington County Board of Health debated how to proceed in the interim with Public Health Director Danielle Pettit-Majewski’s last day coming up on Aug. 4.

Board members discussed whether to contract with Jefferson County to have their Public Health Director Chris Estle serve as an interim director in Washington County while a search is conducted for a permanent replacement for Pettit-Majewski.

“I feel an outside interim person would be good to bridge until we’ve decided as a board which direction we want to go with,” board Chair Cathy Buffington said. “I think it will take a good four months to get a person in.”

Pettit-Majewski said that she believes it would be helpful to have someone come in from the outside to look at the department’s operation.

Board member Dr. Chris Grier agreed.

“How do we set the best tone for the future?” Grier asked. “In that light, that’s why I support an outside interim.”

“When you’re in it, it’s hard to see the whole picture.”

Board member Jack Seward Jr., who serves on the Board of Supervisors, questioned whether an outside interim director is necessary.

“A lot of what you’re saying can be done with staff we already have,” Seward said. “What perspective does Chris Estle have that’s different?”

Roberta Sloat, the department’s First Five coordinator, noted that there are other new staffers coming to the department in the coming weeks.

“Onboarding new members takes significant time and energy,” Sloat said. “It’s not realistic to think that we can absorb all of that and move on in a healthy way.

“I just don’t think we can do all of that by ourselves.”

Berdette Davis, community health consultant with the Iowa Department of Public Health, explained that Washington County would not be contracting with Estle.

“The contract would be hiring an agency (Jefferson County Public Health) not an individual,” Davis said. “You’re not just hiring Chris. You’re hiring her whole team.

“Fall is a busy time of year for public health, and you’ve got a lot on your plate already.”

She added that Washington County could use Estle as a mentor.

Estle said that she is willing to do what she can to help.

“I want to see your county succeed during this transition,” Estle said.

Seward remained skeptical of the idea of an interim director.

“My biggest questions are how much will actually be on the plate of an interim that isn’t already on the plate of someone in house,” Seward said. “I’m interested in seeing the nuts and bolts of what an interim director would be doing.”

Estle said that the exact duties are difficult to quantify.

“I think it’s difficult to pigeonhole a specific number of hours,” she said. “It’s more making sure tasks are completed when they are due.”

Seward said that someone will need to come up with a draft of an agreement between the two counties.

Pettit-Majewski said that Washington County Attorney John Gish has started working on drafting an agreement.

The Board of Health meets again for a work session on Aug. 3.