County’s Top Health Officer To Step Down Beare’s Retirement Another Hit On Health District
Dr. John Beare, who led the Spokane County Health District into an era of social activism, announced Thursday he is retiring as the county’s top health official.
The announcement comes as health district employees worry about a hostile takeover by county commissioners.
Beare, 64, was angered earlier this week when commissioners decided to keep the Jan. 1 takeover threat alive - at least until they’ve considered other options, like rearranging the board to give themselves more power.
Beare insisted Thursday his retirement, effective July 31, has nothing to do with the county’s overtures. The retirement was a long time coming, he said.
“As you know, my initial intent in coming to Spokane in November 1989 was to serve at least one year,” he told the health board.
But the soft-spoken Beare brought a list of priorities that kept him busy for nearly seven years.
High on the list were fights against teen smoking and substance abuse, and the issue that brought statewide notoriety: fighting the spread of AIDS by providing clean needles to intravenous drug users.
Beare started his career in 1961 as a resident in the Snohomish County Health District. He later moved to the state Department of Health, where he worked on programs aimed at stemming the spread of tuberculosis and sexually-transmitted diseases.
He was director of public health at the state Department of Social and Health Services for 13 years, and was just a month into retirement when he was offered the job in Spokane.
When Beare arrived, the county’s needle exchange program was mired in legal challenges. The battle went to the state Supreme Court in 1992, with justices rejecting then-Prosecutor Don Brockett’s contention that the program violated drug paraphernalia laws.
It was a landmark decision that affected not only needle swaps - programs in Yakima and Olympia started shortly after the ruling - but the role of health officials, said Bruce Miyahara, Department of Health secretary.
“It made it very clear that when there is an emergency or public health issue, the health officer’s authority cannot be compromised,” Miyahara said.
Also under Beare’s watch, the district:
Took over a private methadone clinic. The synthetic drug is meant to curb addicts’ cravings for heroin and slow the spread of AIDS because it is taken orally rather than through needles.
Critics say methadone merely transfers one long-term addiction for another.
Crusaded against smoking by limiting teen access to cigarettes.
The health board recently shelved a proposed restaurant smoking ban after Beare said the health hazard wasn’t a “medical emergency.” He cautioned, however, that second-hand smoke “is a very serious and urgent problem.”
Limited tobacco and alcohol advertising in the Spokane Arena, fairgrounds and other public facilities.
Outlawed laundry detergents containing phosphorus and tightened regulations on septic tanks.
Offered to pay $1 a day to teenage girls as a reward for not getting pregnant.
Although the health board makes decisions on such issues, causes like the needle swap and tougher smoking laws wouldn’t be championed without a strong leader, said Ronald Schurra, chief administrative officer for Holy Family Hospital.
“When you look at all the other counties, not all of them are doing these things,” said Schurra. “He (Beare) has kept Spokane in the forefront.”
City Councilwoman Phyllis Holmes, who chairs the health board, said the search for a replacement will begin soon. The process took a year when Beare was hired.
“Several other districts in the state have been looking for directors and (are) having a fairly difficult time,” Miyahara said.
Beare, who has three grown children and two grandchildren, said he plans to retire near Salem, Ore., where he recently built a house.
He plans to remain active on health issues in Washington and stay on the governing board of Dominican Network, which runs Holy Family and three other hospitals in Eastern Washington.
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