Health officer approved as questions linger. Who'll do it long term?

SOUTH BEND — Both St. Joseph County’s council and commissioners voted Tuesday to approve a retired doctor as the county’s next health officer, but they still don’t have someone who’s willing to do it for the long term.

The council voted 5-3 along party lines for a four-year contract for Dr. Joseph H. Cerbin, who retired from South Bend Clinic in December. He told The Tribune on Saturday that he was “extremely clear” that he’d only do the job for four months, since he has plans to then move out of state.

Some council members struggled with the state statute that, according to county health board attorney Marcel Lebbin, requires the county to sign a four-year contract for its health officer.

More about Dr. Cerbin:New health officer recommended. But he says: No more than four months.

And the health board apparently wasn’t aware of that requirement until they sat down March 15 to vote on the appointment. Many had expected to vote on an interim health officer.

Regardless, Cerbin got the votes Tuesday. After the council took action at a special meeting, all three commissioners voted unanimously for the appointment without discussion in their regularly scheduled meeting.

The health department has hired health officers on an interim basis twice in the past eight years. But Lebbin said the state law changed a couple of years ago, making this the county’s first health officer appointment who’d be affected by it. He cited Indiana Code 16-20-2-16.

But health board member Heidi Beidinger is skeptical that there isn’t a way to still make an interim hire. If the health officer suddenly dies, she questioned, would the health board have to offer a four-year contract to another doctor within mere days?

When she’d asked the deputy commissioner of the Indiana State Department of Health, Beidinger said, she was told that a number of counties do have interim health officers.

She’d voted against Cerbin’s appointment in the health board and again spoke against it at the council meeting — not taking issue with him but with a process that she said lacked transparency. Why, she asked, did no one know about the state statute until the last minute?

Nobody questioned Cerbin’s qualifications Tuesday.

Council member Diana Hess said, “I’d gladly vote for Dr. Cerbin in the interim.”

But at the time of the vote, she still felt pestered by unanswered questions — still wondering if an interim contract was somehow possible.

Fellow Democrat Mark Catanzarite asked if there was a way to develop an agreement with Cerbin, in addition to the contract, to ensure that he truly does serve for just four months.

The council’s attorney, James A. O’Brien, said nothing precludes a health officer from resigning from the job early. But he also said the council’s job was simply to either confirm or deny the appointment.

Democrat Rafael Morton said he remained “extremely concerned” about the health board’s inability to remove a health officer once the contract is signed. He cited Beidinger’s claim that the contract is “ironclad.”

Council member Joe Thomas, among the Republicans who all voted for the appointment, said the county must abide by the state requirements. But he was also bothered by the stark reality that the current health officer, Dr. Robert Einterz, laid out to the health board last week.

Einterz, who retires at the end of March, said the state-required functions of health would “come to a standstill … if a health officer is not named and in place (on) April 1. An individual could not get a birth certificate, a death certificate. … Nothing can be done.”

More from Einterz:County health officer Einterz to share perspectives as he retires

“Even with more time,” Thomas said, “I don’t think the board could have made a better choice.”

Kathy Schuth, executive director of the Near Northwest Neighborhood, Inc., said she grew concerned when she read that Cerbin would put in just 20 or so hours per week to handle the department’s essentials. She noted the health department’s partnership in a lead-paint project in the neighborhood, where at least 30% of youths test high for lead in their blood.

“It is very dangerous to put in someone who is not fully available,” Schuth said.

John Linn told The Tribune on Wednesday that he launched a search for a new health officer just after the health board elected him to succeed Beidinger as president in mid-February. While the board welcomes Cerbin to stay for the full four years, Linn said the board understands if other commitments would shorten his stay, adding, "We are so happy to have him for as long as we can.”

Catanzarite asked Beidinger if the health board has already started to look for a candidate who’d serve for the long term, knowing that Cerbin would be a short timer.

“I hope that’s the case,” she replied of the process that Linn would lead.

When The Tribune asked, Linn replied, "The Personnel Committee will continue their efforts to recommend the next candidate for health officer to fill Dr. Cerbin’s shoes upon his departure.”

Beidinger further urged the help of the council and the public, saying, “We need to find a highly qualified, passionate person.”

South Bend Tribune reporter Joseph Dits can be reached at 574-235-6158 or jdits@sbtinfo.com.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Dr. Cerbin approved as county health officer but law is questioned