An administrator will lead the Spokane Regional Health District – not a doctor – for the first time in district’s history

Following a search committee’s recommendation, the Spokane Regional Health District has decided to entrust the direction of the district to an administrator – not a doctor – for the first time since it was established in 1970.

The board approved the amendment to the bylaws Thursday. The next step is to begin the nearly year-long process of searching for candidates to fill both the administrator and health officer jobs. But first, the board will focus on rewriting job descriptions for both positions.

“The devil is in the details on the job descriptions, but we’ll get there,” said board member and city councilwoman Amber Waldref.

The board had been in the process of searching for a health officer since February, when Joel McCullough stepped down. But rather than immediately start the process of filling his position, they looked to other counties to see how they handled the administration within their health districts. What they found was overwhelmingly the model the Spokan district is moving toward.

But that doesn’t mean there isn’t opposition. Lori Kinnear, board member and Spokane City Councilwoman, voted against the amendment Thursday, saying the board didn’t do it’s due diligence in surveying employees at the health district for their opinion.

“The staff are all experts in their field. They would know what’s best for the district,” she said. “That was just a non-starter for me.”

She was also skeptical that politics wouldn’t get between the health officer’s duty of enacting health codes, since an administrator might be focused on saving face for the district rather than focusing on community health.

“I’m just not convinced,” she said.

The board indicated they would begin searching for candidates early next year. In the meantime, they approved a year-long contract with Sam Artzis, a doctor based out of Colville, who will likely be the interim health officer.

McCullough had been serving as interim health officer since he stepped down, but he said he’s ending that role at the end of the month.