Alicia Thompson fired as Spokane Regional Health District administrator over ‘performance issues’

After more than a year-and-a-half at the job, Alicia Thompson is no longer the administrative officer at the Spokane Regional Health District.

Details behind the sudden dismissal are scarce, as the Board of Health approved a separation agreement and appointment of her interim replacements Thursday.

According to that agreement, Thompson was involuntarily placed on leave because of “concerns related to employee’s performance as administrative officer.”

As part of the separation agreement, Thompson was required to write an involuntary resignation letter. In return, she received six months severance pay, which amounts to $107,000.

In her resignation letter, Thompson said her dismissal was related to “performance concerns expressed by the Board of Health.”

The board did not make clear what those concerns were as they unanimously approved the separation agreement Thursday.

Tasked with overseeing SRHD’s operations, Thompson had been SRHD administrator since December 2023 and came to Spokane after a nationwide search. Although a Spokane native, she served in similar administrative roles at public health entities in Arizona.

When she was first appointed, Thompson was meant to bring stability to an organization whose leadership had been in turmoil for years. Former administrative officer Amelia Clark dismissed then-health officer Bob Lutz in 2020 at the height of the COVID pandemic without approval by the Board of Health. After facing multiple complaints she violated state law, Clark left her post in 2022 and agreed with state health officials not to ever serve in the position again.

After Clark’s exit, the public health agency was overseen by a team of interim administrative officers. Moving forward SRHD will again be lead by a team of interim administrators.

On Thursday, the Board of Health approved Ray Byrne, division director of environmental public health, and Kim Kramarz, director of finance, as interim co-administrative officers. They will oversee agency operations and the budget, respectively.

The pair declined to be interviewed Thursday. According to a health district spokesperson, SRHD staff will “begin putting together a process for recruitment efforts” of Thompson’s permanent successor.

During her 21 months on the job, Thompson oversaw an inquiry on whether to outsource SRHD’s opioid treatment services. The methadone clinic was ultimately not privatized, and the health district has since redoubled its support for the program, expanding its hours of operation earlier this year.

Before approval of the separation agreement, Hawkins had said Thompson was on administrative leave for “reasons that are personal and private.”

Thompson did not respond to a request for comment.