SPOKANE, Wash. — Spokane Regional Health District bylaws say the Board of Health has the authority to appoint and terminate its health officer. The board is currently using that authority in an attempt to fire health officer Dr. Bob Lutz.
Lutz said in a statement on Monday that he was fired last Thursday and provided with a written severance offer.
But this is not the first time the board has fired its health officer. The board fired former health officer Dr. Kim Thorburn after a public vote in 2006.
At the time, she also served as the director of the health district, which is now the administrator.
The board said it terminated her contract due to "unspecified administrative problems" and an ongoing communication deadlock.
Thorburn said the board and health officer historically butt heads because their health versus political opinions do not always align. Fourteen years later, she sees Dr. Lutz facing the same challenge.
"Dr. Lutz and I are colleagues, and so we communicate," Thorburn said. "We discussed difficulties of board governance with elected officials, which is a major portion of the board."
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Thorburn said it is frustrating to see Lutz go through a similar situation she faced years ago. She added that the board's decision to ask him to resign is bad for the community.
"He's been out doing what he should have been doing to protect the health of this community in the midst of this pandemic," Thorburn said. "It's so unfortunate it's become so partisan."
It took the board of health two years to hire her replacement. She believes it would take even longer to find a replacement now during a pandemic.
"There are not a lot of trained public health physicians," Thorburn said. "It's hard to see somebody wanting to come into a position like this."
Her concerns all those years ago remain the same: a board of health made up of mostly politicians.
In the spirit of transparency, she would rather see more health experts fill those seats.
"They would have more of the interest of public health," she said.