Health District Will Be Run By Commissioners Takeover Approved For 1997 On 2-1 Vote; New Health Advisory Board To Give Counsel
County Commissioners moved ahead Tuesday with plans to take control of the Spokane County Health District.
By a 2-1 vote, commissioners decided to place the health district under county authority Jan. 1, 1997.
However, commissioners aren’t sure how the county will pay for the health district and they’re appointing a commission to study the takeover.
The new health department will be run by the three commissioners, as opposed to the eight-member board of city and county elected officials who now run the health district.
Saying that “being at the helm goes with this job,” Commissioner Steve Hasson cast aside critics who say he and his colleagues aren’t qualified to guide public health issues.
“What we’re trying to do, sincerely, is cost effective,” Hasson said. “Change is difficult for all of us.”
Commissioner George Marlton cast the dissenting vote, citing the county’s troubled financial state.
“Until we have enough to take care of our own house, I don’t think we should take on another stepchild,” Marlton said.
Commissioner Phil Harris and Hasson also agreed to put in place a 10-member health advisory board composed of people from the health and medical communities, as well as the general public.
The advisory board’s first task will be to study the effects of the county’s takeover on the independent health district.
Commissioners aren’t sure how the county will foot the bill for the new health department. Harris and Hasson said they would consider throwing out the takeover plan if the advisory board decides it is unwise.
If the takeover moves forward, the board would remain in place to advise commissioners about health issues.
Commissioners last Thursday backed away from their original plan to withdraw from the health district by year’s end.
That decision came on the heels of a visit from the state’s top health official.
Bruce Miyahara, secretary of the Washington Department of Health, came to town last week to investigate the commissioners’ plan. When he left, he was critical, saying the proposal made “no sense” from a management standpoint.
Critics say the takeover not only will jeopardize and politicize public health, but also will cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in transition costs.
Spokane resident Rob Fukai urged commissioners to do a study of the plan before voting to withdraw from the district.
“My feeling is you’re putting the cart before the horse,” said Fukai, co-chairman of the Health Improvement Partnership, a group composed of medical and business leaders.
Hasson said setting a date for the takeover removes doubt about the commissioners’ intentions.
“Why not study first and then take action?” Hasson said. “For the purpose of closure.”
Earlier this year, Washington lawmakers crafted a law that allows counties to take over health districts.
For 25 years, the Spokane County agency has been run independently under the eyes of an eight-member board. The panel includes the three county commissioners, three Spokane City Council members and two representatives from small towns.
, DataTimes