Thorburn takes job at Planned Parenthood

Even as members of the Spokane Regional Health District Board grappled with whether to revamp her old job, former health officer Dr. Kim Thorburn revealed Thursday she has a new one: medical director for Planned Parenthood of the Inland Northwest.

Thorburn, 56, said she’ll start the half-time position with the nonprofit agency on April 5.

“Basically, it’s medical oversight,” she said.

Her informal disclosure came following a sparsely attended public meeting to consider whether to reform the structure of the health district, dividing the health officer’s duties into two posts. Health district board members decided to consider changing the position after terminating Thorburn’s contract in November.

Thorburn was among about 25 people who attended the forum and one of only a few to speak. She urged health board members to maintain the current structure of the agency.

“It should not be divided. It should be left in the hands of a scientist,” she said. “Clearly politics play into the public’s decision, but clearly, science should lead the way.”

Thorburn’s views were echoed by two local medical doctors: Steve Laney and Jeff O’Connor.

But Joan Brewster, an official with the Washington state Department of Health, reminded board members and citizens that Spokane’s structure is only one of several workable ways to govern a public health district. State law requires agencies to hire a health officer, who may serve as chief administrator. But the law also allows a board of health to hire a non-medical administrator to run the agency.

“I think you can keep a physician busy in this community full-time, no question,” Brewster said. “The question is, ‘What do you want that person’s time to be spent on?’ “

Board members will decide whether to change the agency’s structure by the end of April, when they expect to begin a search for a new health officer, Chairwoman Mary Verner said this week. The low attendance at Thursday’s public forum was a sharp contrast to the standing-room only crowds that protested Thorburn’s firing last fall.

Ken Isserlis, a Spokane lawyer and member of the Planned Parenthood board of directors, said late Thursday that Thorburn was chosen because of her credentials and her experience, which include more than nine years at the health district and a stint as director of the state Board of Health. She’ll bring new skills and new expertise to the nonprofit agency, which has annual revenues of about $6 million. She’ll also bring a renowned passion for public health, he said.

“This is a great match between what is Kim Thorburn’s demonstrated philosophy and what is Planned Parenthood’s mission,” Isserlis said.