Interim Health Chief is a Possibility

By Jessica Machetta, Florida Keys Keynoter, Marathon

Mar. 14–After talks with the commission, Health Department staff and getting community input, “they’ll make a decision to make sure the county Health Department is stable and the citizens of Monroe County continue to receive quality care,” said Wendy Riemann, spokeswoman for the state DOH. “Once she goes down there, I think they’ll be able to make a decision fairly quickly on their next steps.”

Reimann could not yet say which will happen immediately after the meeting, which could happen at the County Commission meeting March 21 or some other meeting: whether an interim director will be appointed or the job will be advertised.

When May announced her resignation March 2, Reimann said the next director could come from within the department or the private sector. The state and county work together to staff the position, she said.

When she decided to resign, May told the Keynoter the final straw was because former Health Department employees, who she had fired, spoke out against her and the department in a Key West weekly tabloid and her request for support from the Florida Department of Health was denied.

The administration told her “don’t say anything, we would just like you to resign,” May said. “…I’ve given my blood, sweat and tears to this Health Department. I feel like I’ve given everything I can and it’s time to move on.”

May also said what she’s perceived as a lack of financial support or to even “be able to offer the Health Department employees a living wage” contributed to her decision.

She’s taking a position at a Miami clinic. May owns a house on Plantation Key and plans to spending weekends there and continue volunteer work in the Keys after she moves to Miami.

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Copyright (c) 2007, Florida Keys Keynoter, Marathon

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.

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