Newbury Surgeon Appointed as Replacement
The Geauga County Health District Advisory Council voted to remove former Geauga County Board of Health President Rich Piraino from his seat at their annual meeting March 15.
The Geauga County Health District Advisory Council voted to remove former Geauga County Board of Health President Rich Piraino from his seat at their annual meeting March 15.
The HDAC is made up of trustees of Geauga County’s 16 townships, a representative from each of the county’s five villages and cities and one Geauga County commissioner.
The council met three hours after the health board’s special meeting during which it voted to execute an agreement with Lake County General Health District that stipulated the termination of 17 out of nearly two-dozen Geauga Public Health employees.
Only those in the Vital Statistics Program at GPH will remain employed, while all other roles in the department will be staffed through LCGHD as of April 3.
SEE: Majority of GPH Employees Terminated Effective March 31
“For those of you that attended the special Geauga Public Health board meeting, I’m glad that you were able to attend. I’m disappointed that you don’t think that we did not take your concerns … into consideration, but all I can tell you is this board has been very, very proactive,” Piraino said in his opening comments to the HDAC. “They have all contributed a lot of time. And this is not just a board that … you meet once a month and you make medical decisions.”
Piraino stood for re-appointment to the board along with candidates Frank Gliha — the former Geauga County auditor who pled guilty to a dereliction of duty charge related to an embezzlement scheme by a former employee — and surgeon Dr. Mark Hendrickson, a Newbury resident.
Hendrickson spoke before Piraino, telling HDAC members while Geauga County is ranked third for health in Ohio, the number one cause of death in the county is cancer. GPH should consider linking its website to the National Cancer Institute’s Physician Data Query, which can help patients and their families who are battling cancer.
In response to a question from South Russell Trustee Jim Mueller, Hendrickson said he would not have pushed through the agreement with LCGHD.
“I think I can answer this very simply,” he told Mueller. “Did Lake County give up any (employees), have to retire people?”
Hendrickson also said he plans to connect with Auburn Career Center to chart a course for a specialty in septic and well inspection since there are not enough people trained in the field to meet the current demand or demands of GPH’s sewage treatment operations and maintenance program.
Referring to Hendrickson’s concerns regarding cancer in Geauga residents, Piraino said while cancer is serious, the maintenance of well and septic systems takes up about 80% to 90% GPH’s attention and work.
“I don’t want to disagree with the good doctor. I know he’s a lot smarter than me and he is right, cancer is a serious thing. But I can tell you, after being on this board that, you know, the, the population health is actually not that important in this department in this county,” Piraino said.
The health board currently has a physician, Dr. Mark Rood, Piraino said, as well as Dr. Ashley Jones, who holds a doctorate in pharmacy.
“So, do we need more medical or do we need people that understand environmental (health),” he asked HDAC members.
Mueller told Piraino he would hold him accountable for his decision not to go along with the wishes of the 50 to 60 people in the room during the health board meeting who asked board members to hold off on a decision to sign the agreement with Lake County until the HDAC and the public had a chance to review it.
“This was a decision that had to be made tonight. We could not hold it off,” Piraino said. “And frankly, waiting a week or waiting a month would actually put more anxiety, probably, on the existing staff that we have.”
Chardon Township Trustee and HDAC secretary Mike Brown, who had earlier tangled with Piraino over his statements during the health board meeting, told HDAC he was still in shock over how that vote went down.
“Apparently, there was enough forethought put into it for the board to schedule a special meeting, try to avoid a large public presence and approve this contract,” Brown said. “So obviously, they knew this was going to be a testy subject. Geauga County people are very proud people and we don’t like to forego any of our sovereignty to anyone, regardless of who it is.”
Brown said the agreement with LCGHD is something that should have been the third option after approaching trustees or going for a levy.
“That rubs me the wrong way. To do something of this magnitude in a single meeting without public discourse — if I were to do that in Chardon Township, I would expect to get voted out,” he said.
Piraino received two votes, from Chester Township Trustee Craig Richter and South Russell Village Mayor Bill Koons, who said while he disagreed with the handling of the GPH agreement with LCGHD, he opted to give Piraino another year on the board to see the process through.
Gliha received five votes and Hendrickson won his seat on the GPH board, effective at the conclusion of the HDAC meeting, with 11 votes.
Representatives from Middlefield Village, Montville Township and Newbury Township were absent, as was Geauga County Commissioner Tim Lennon.
