World Health Organization: Mpox is a global public health emergency
For the second time in two years, the World Health Organization has declared Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, a global public health emergency.
LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Despite the Tippecanoe County Health Department’s recommendation to convert the county health officer position to a full-time position, Tippecanoe County Board members voted unanimously Monday to post the vacancy as a part-time consultant position.
Julianne Stout, president of the Tippecanoe County Health Department, said during Monday’s county commissioners meeting that the board recommended increasing the currently vacant position to a full-time position with a salary of $275,000.
Although the consultant role was originally part-time, Stout said the county is now in a unique position to take a “more modern approach” to prevention and public health.
“From our discussions with the county, I understand that the county plans to keep this position as a part-time, consultation and visitation position, arguing that the time is not right,” Stout said. “We believe that time is measured by the infants who die and contribute to the fetal infant mortality rate, as well as those who die of overdose due to substance use disorders, which are typically complicated by mental illness and contribute to those rates.”
“We would therefore like to point out that the resources are there and the will is there. We therefore ask you to seriously consider our recommendation for a full-time health officer.”
The proposed full-time job description would encourage the county health officer to develop their own vision for how they will support both environmental and clinical services, Stout said, and also expand clinical services to provide a better safety net for the community. The health officer would also be responsible for forging a path forward as a self-sustaining organization, Stout said, and growing beyond reliance on the first two years of funding from Health First Indiana.
The future of the Health First Indiana scholarship is uncertain
Tippecanoe County Commissioner Tom Murtaugh said one of his biggest concerns in converting the position to full-time is the current dependence on the Health First Indiana grant.
“We’re in the first year and a new administration is coming in again,” Murtaugh said. “We have no guarantee that this funding will continue. Hopefully it will, but we have no guarantee that it will.”
Rather than using the Health First Indiana grant funds to pay a single person’s salary, he said the money would be better spent distributing it to health care providers who would likely provide the same services at a lower cost than the county could provide directly.
“I don’t see right now that it makes financial sense to start a new community clinic when we have two hospital systems and two (federally qualified health centers),” Murtaugh said. “We have mental health providers, our partner agencies, that do a great job providing services to the community, but they lack the resources to expand those services.”
“And now, with the resources from Health First Indiana, we have an opportunity to help them just by partnering and working together like we do in this community, and I think this kind of goes against that.”
A full-time position is not excluded for the next few years
Murtaugh said he is not completely opposed to the idea of making the position full-time. In three or four years, when the position’s funding is more secure and the health officer’s needs are different, he could see a greater need, Murtaugh said.
Stout said she heard his point of view, but disagreed with the fact that the plan developed by the health department precludes working with community partners. She pointed out that they are an essential part of the health department’s plan. These community partners also face different hurdles due to their business models.
“The need for a safety net is always there,” Stout said. “Each of our partners has different hurdles that none of us fully understand.”
But Murtaugh said a full-time health officer could not possibly meet the need for a comprehensive safety net in the community.
Stout said if Murtaugh spoke to surrounding county governments that have full-time health officials, they would likely disagree.
“They have full-time health officers who lead their professional teams. With all due respect, I would say many of our health partners have been with us for years and we continue to have a need,” Stout said. “They say the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, but the second best time is today.”
Tippecanoe County Commissioner Tracy Brown said the discussion about whether a health officer should be full-time or part-time weighed heavily on his mind over the weekend, knowing it would be a key issue on Monday.
However, Brown said his concerns about making the position full-time stemmed from the recent months following the resignation of former Tippecanoe County Health Officer Greg Loomis.
“I’m not a person who looks back, but I know that if we limit people’s needs to one person and that person changes their mind, we’re stuck and we’re going to have to find another person to take on that responsibility,” Brown said. “I absolutely believe that this is not a job for one person, and I don’t know where that ultimately takes us, but I think we want to do the right thing for the people who are receiving these services.”
After much back and forth for and against making the position of district health officer a full-time position, the district commissioners voted unanimously to advertise the position as a part-time position.
Sadie McKinley, Tippecanoe County’s human resources director, said the part-time position will be open to applicants after Monday morning’s meeting.
Jillian Ellison is a reporter for the Journal and Courier. Email her at [email protected]. Follow her on X at @ellison_writes.
