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Logan County District Board of Health members delved into future leadership planning at their Wednesday afternoon meeting, discussing a potential option of hiring a full-time deputy health commissioner in mid-2017 as the current health commissioner steps back some of his duties heading toward retirement.
Health Commissioner Dr. Boyd Hoddinott, who has served in that position since 2000, said he would take a pay cut to his $55,000 annual salary to assist with the hire of a deputy health commissioner. In this proposed succession planning scenario, Dr. Hoddinott would move into a medical director role at the health district, and the deputy health commissioner would assume the other leadership responsibilities.
At the LCHD, two other department head retirements also are expected in the next year — the nursing director and environmental health director — so the deputy health commissioner might assume some of those roles as well, members said.
According to state law, a county health district must be lead by either a health commissioner who is a physician or veterinarian, or alternatively, a deputy health commissioner can be in place with the assistance of a medical director to advise on infectious disease situations and other such issues.
A deputy health commissioner could have a variety of qualifications, such as a master in public health degree, officials said.
“I believe we need someone who’s here all the time and intimately involved with everything that goes on and our staff,” Dr. Hoddinott said of the proposed position.
“This is a good time to restructure the agency, with several department heads retiring,” Administrator Lisa Brown said.
Read complete story in Thursday’s Examiner.
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