While I’m pleased to report that I was successful in resolving the Brown Act mess relative to a confusing proposed administrative merger of Public Health and Behavioral Health (formally Mental Health) under a single Director, this issue needs careful reflection before implementation.
The Supes’ unanimous decision at their May 21 meeting to do what should have been done in the first place, i.e., discuss and take action in open session where the public will be allowed to participate in the process. This is obviously a huge step in the right direction. Presumably, this corrective action will occur at the June 4, 2024 meeting where the issue(s) will be posted on the regular, open session agenda.
At this week’s meeting, Board Chair Maureen Mulheren, who admitted at the May 7 BOS meeting, that the Public Health merger had been discussed during at least one closed session “personnel” meeting, issued an apology: “You know I was really caught off guard at the last meeting [June 7]. This was a discussion and I got a little flabbergasted by the process … I attend a lot of meetings and sometimes I forget which meeting where I‘ve heard the review of the meetings and when they happened and what they discussed. What was helpful for me also as I reflected [on] that I personally toured Public Health and was working actively related to the VSO conversation (reference to the forced relocation of the Veterans Service Organization), and so you know it was a challenging conversation, and so I learned a lot.
“And there was a friend that said, ‘You know there’s no playbook for this.’ And sometimes things come up we’re not prepared for, so I apologize for any misdirection that I may have given [at the May 7 meeting].”
Evidently, she’s saying because she attends so many meetings and deals with so many issues, she sometimes forgets what occurs at different meetings and in different settings. So that led to her May 7 meeting “misdirection” about what may or may not have occurred regarding the Public Health merger proposal and whether it was discussed or not in closed session.
Ultimately, the record speaks for itself and I’ll just leave it at that. Mulheren’s June 21 revelation and apology were the right thing for her to do given the circumstances surrounding this matter.
On the substantive side of this issue, recently retired Julie Beardsley, who served in government for over 30 years, and was the Mendocino County Senior Public Health Analyst (acting as the Epidemiologist) for 8 years, did an excellent job of summarizing this puzzling proposal:
“The Board of Supervisors is debating once again whether to combine Public Health and Behavioral Health into one department. Having a ‘Health Department’ may make sense in our small community and could save money. But as things stand now, Behavioral Health staff are running Public Health, despite the fact that they have no expertise or knowledge of how a Public Health department should function. Our Mendocino County Public Health does not run hospitals like some larger counties do. Public Health does provide some treatment modalities, for example, treating tuberculosis patients. They run vaccine clinics at times. Public Health Nursing provides home visiting for families at risk for child abuse or neglect. It provides education and information about oral health, tobacco use, and nutrition. The Women’s Infant’s and Children’s (WIC) program and Environmental Health are also a part of Public Health. Public Health also monitors children in foster care and children with special needs. The decision to create a ‘Health Department’ is fine and may be appropriate for our county. But to have BHRS overseeing Public Health is not appropriate. BHRS staff are not trained in the science of Public Health modalities or its functions. Trying to force BHRS policies and procedures on Public Health department functioning is not appropriate and is counter-productive to the functioning of the Public Health department.
Combining the two departments may be an okay idea, but the tail should not wag the dog. BHRS should be under Public Health, and not the other way around. There may be someone who could manage both departments, but honestly, it is not Jenine Miller and her staff. They lack the training and knowledge necessary to fulfill the core functions of a Public Health department. I urge the Supervisors to look for someone who has the qualifications to oversee both departments, OR to resist the temptation to act suddenly without a real plan.”
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