'It has been an incredible journey.' Canton health commissioner James Adams to retire

CANTON − The man who helped lead Canton through the coronavirus pandemic and has overseen the city's many public health services since 2008 plans to retire.

Canton City Health Commissioner James Adams intends to retire by the end of January. He said he could leave sooner if his successor is found quickly.

“As I transition into this new phase of my life, I will forever carry the experiences of my time serving the Canton City community with me,” Adams wrote in a letter to staff on Monday as he thanked them for their dedication during his tenure. “It has been an incredible journey, and I am eternally thankful for the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of so many.”

In an interview with the Canton Repository, Adams, 69, cited his age and his more than four decades working in public health as the primary reasons he plans to retire.

Adams, a native of Indiana, started his public health career in 1977 with the Ohio Department of Health as a sanitarian who would train local health department employees and evaluate their inspections. He worked for the Lorain County Health Department as a sanitarian before being hired by the Canton City Health Department in 1985. Adams, who had a master’s degree in public health, worked as the city’s environmental health director for 20 years and as the director of administration for three years before being tapped as the health commissioner in 2008.

During Adam’s tenure as commissioner, the department earned national accreditation from the Public Health Accreditation Board and has changed how it views its role in the community. The department, which employs roughly 70 workers, still conducts inspections, hosts clinics and cites the people and businesses who violate health laws, but over the past decade, it also has taken on a greater role in addressing the social conditions that affect the overall health of the community, such as racism, discrimination and inequities in marginalized communities.

As an example, its THRIVE program (Toward Health Resiliency and Infant Vitality and Equity) seeks to identify and address the reasons why so many Stark County babies, especially Black babies, die before their first birthdays.

Adams and the city health department became much more visible to the public during the first year of the coronavirus pandemic, as the department was tasked with taking the federal and state recommendations and applying them locally.

“I am very appreciative that the community allowed us to help them get through COVID, and I mean that sincerely,” Adams said. “There is no way that Canton could have come through COVID without the people in the community allowing us to help them through that. I am appreciative of the trust that they put into us.”

Who will be the next Canton City health commissioner?

The search for Canton’s new health commissioner likely will begin in September.

To be the health commissioner the candidate must either be a licensed physician, dentist, veterinarian or chiropractor or must have a master’s degree in public health or equivalent. The candidate also must have five years of leadership experience in a health field or public service organization, according to a new job description approved by the Canton Civil Service Commission earlier this month.

The new health commissioner likely will earn a higher salary than Adams.

On Monday, the Canton health board approved a new salary range for the position, increasing it from a pay range of $72,685 to $116,416 a year to the new range of $84,870 to $122,432 a year.

Canton Law Director Jason Reese, who had consulted with the board in an executive session before their vote, said the higher salary range puts the position in line with comparable city department leaders, such as the police chief, fire chief and water superintendent, and is intended to make the position more attractive to potential candidates.

Health board member Stephen Hickman opposed the higher salary range for the new health commissioner. He believes the board should have considered the commissioner’s salary as part of the departmentwide compensation overhaul the board has been discussing for the past three years.

Adams currently earns $77,890 a year. He said Monday that it is unclear whether he will receive a raise due to the new minimum salary for the position, which took effect immediately. Potentially complicating matters is that Adams technically already retired once. In 2017, he retired and returned to work for a salary that was $38,500 less than what he had been earning at the time.

On Wednesday, Rachel Forchione, director of Canton's Civil Service Commission, said she consulted with the city law department and confirmed that Adam's salary will increase due to the new salary structure. He will earn the position's new minimum amount of $84,870 a year, a nearly 9% increase from his current salary.

Adams said updating the department's employee compensation plan is one of his primary goals to complete before he retires. He also would like the department’s offices to be remodeled before he leaves. The renovation would allow the department to expand its nursing clinic and improve the security of its entrance. Adams estimates that he has roughly $2 million of the $3.1 million project already secured. But he acknowledges that construction would likely take more than a year.

“I don’t think I can wait around that long,” he said.

Reach Canton Repository staff writer Kelli Weir at 330-580-8339 or kelli.weir@cantonrep.com.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Canton City Health Commissioner James Adams plans to retire