Are 2 bosses better than 1? Local health board thinks so. Here’s why, what it will cost
Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department is splitting its former top job into two positions.
That’s the decision the department’s Board of Health endorsed Sept. 6 (Wednesday) upon recommendation from its recruitment committee.
The committee recently recommended splitting the position into two roles — director and health officer, to cover both the administrative duties and medical requirements previously rolled into a solo director position. The board approved a salary range for director at $166,782.72 to $214,780.80 annually, and for the health officer $200,740.80 to $267,280 annually.
The proposal was unanimously approved by the board at its regular Sept. 6 meeting. The board also gave the department’s interim director a raise, increasing her annual salary from $166,795.20 to $200,740.
The action comes as the department is involved in a local and nationwide search for a replacement of former director Dr. Anthony Chen, who retired June 30. Chen was selected to lead the department in 2008 and served in the role starting in 2009. He was at the helm during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Chen has stayed on via a contract extension with the department serving in a director “emeritus” role, a position that has helped to support interim director Cindan Gizzi in work that comes under qualified health officer duties as per state law.
While the position will introduce a second department leader to engage with the community, a pros-and-cons analysis in the board agenda packet noted, “Potentially one or more Health Department program budgets might be affected by the salary needed for the additional position.”
It added, “The Interim Director of Health, working closely with the Finance & Operations Director, will minimize effects on existing public health services and staff to limit potential negative impacts.”
The decision to split the job into two and the budget ramifications struck a chord with at least one TPCHD employee, who spoke during the public comment segment of the meeting.
Emily Holloway is a health promotion coordinator in the Communicable Disease division. She told the board that staff had repeatedly asked if the department would consider the two-position model, only to be told no.
“So you can imagine how I, and I’m guessing many of my colleagues, felt shocked and dismissed when a few weeks ago, we received an email that said, the very thing that we had asked for was being considered. It did feel dismissive,” she said.
“In a time where we have been told repeatedly that we are in a tight budget situation, we have desks next to us that remain vacant, because we aren’t able to fill positions, positions that remain open, we can’t hire due to salary,” she continued. “... And then today to consider increasing the pay for the interim director and then discussion about those other two salaries. Quite frankly, it’s disheartening.”
TPCHD media representative Kenny Via told The News Tribune after the meeting that while some staff had offered feedback about splitting the position, “most of the feedback, the vast majority of it from the community and elsewhere, was to keep it as one originally.”
In TPCHD’s news release Aug. 31 about the recommendation, it stated, “In late June, the committee interviewed 3 finalists who met the minimum qualifications of the Director of Health position. These finalists also answered questions at a forum in August with about 220 Health Department staff and a separate forum of about 20 community stakeholders. After extensive discussions and review of feedback, the committee determined this restructure of leadership to be the best course of action.”
It added: “The two roles will allow for the unique strengths and skill sets necessary to operate an innovative local health jurisdiction. Administrators serve as the executive and strategic leaders of health jurisdictions while state statute sets the requirements of the health officer role, which include being licensed to practice medicine in Washington state.”
The salary budgeted in 2023 for the director’s role as of Chen’s retirement was $267,280.
Educational requirements in serving as director of public health include bachelor’s degree in business administration, public administration, hospital administration, management, nursing, environmental health, epidemiology, public health, or its equivalent and five years of experience in administration in a community-related field; or a graduate degree in any of the fields listed or in medicine or osteopathic medicine and surgery, plus three years of administrative experience in a community-related field; or any equivalent combination of training and/or expertise that provides the required knowledge and abilities.
Educational requirements in serving as health officer include a license to practice medicine and surgery or osteopathic medicine and surgery in the State of Washington; a masters of public health (may be completed within the first 3 years of employment); and a minimum of five years’ experience as a licensed practicing physician.
Details of what the hiring process will look like are to be determined, Board Chair Catherine Ushka noted Wednesday.
Board member Marty Campbell said he appreciated the recruitment committee’s work leading to the recommendation for the two positions.
“Sometimes it’s a hard decision to say, ‘It’s not there, it’s not right, let’s step back and restart the process.’ And so I really appreciate the leadership in saying, ‘Let’s get it right,’ rather than, ‘Let’s pick the best among who we have and try to make it fit.’ Let’s build a better system,” Campbell said.
The board also unanimously approved the new pay rate for the interim director role. Gizzi previously served as deputy director since November 2020. Before Wednesday’s raise, her salary was $166,795.20, according to TPCHD’s Via.
Ushka said the raise was important on a personal level as she long has seen compensation lacking for women taking on multiple roles.
“I will tell you that Cindan did not ask for this much money,” Ushka said, “and I frankly insisted that we pay people what they’re worth. And that’s why this motion is before us as it is. That’s on me. I’ve needed to stand behind women to make sure that they’re compensated in more than one role in my life. And I will continue to stand behind Cindan in this case.”
She added, “I think that she’s also done a great job so far.”
