State Names Interim Director: Eadie to Fill Spot Vacated By Dr. May
By Florida Keys Keynoter, Marathon
Mar. 31–The Monroe County Health Department has a new interim administrator beginning April 30.
On Thursday, the Florida Department of Health announced the selection of Deputy Secretary Bob Eadie to fill the shoes of Dr. Susana May, who resigned earlier this month.
Eadie, an attorney, has more than 30 years of public health experience, said Health Department spokeswoman Gerri White.
“[He] has been a member of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention councils in addition to various other federal, state, local, and community law councils,” White wrote in a statement released Thursday. “He brings an intimate understanding of public health on all fronts to Monroe County.”
May resigned abruptly to accept a position with the Community Health Center in Little Havana, a satellite of the University of Miami Jackson Hospital Network.
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.
Eadie has family ties in the Keys, according to White. His daughter and grandchildren live in Monroe County.
“I have a vested interest in the county health department here, because of my family ties” Eadie said in the department release. “I want to help the staff here to be successful in what they do and ensure the continued health of the residents of the Florida Keys.”
Until Eadie arrives in the Keys, Nursing Director Steve Mason is overseeing the health department, a role he’s filled in the past. Mason headed the department for several months in 2003 and 2004 after the resignation of May’s predecessor Dr. Jake Rutherford.
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Copyright (c) 2007, Florida Keys Keynoter, Marathon
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.
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