A public comment period at the Macon County Board of Health’s special meeting on July 17 saw 15 speakers comment on ongoing leadership struggles at the health department and the county commissioners’ recent proposal to bring the department under county control.
Public comments came from public health staff and administration alongside community members. In addition to the Board of Health members, commissioner liaisons John Shearl and Barry Breeden and County Manager Warren Cabe were in attendance to hear public comments. After a roughly 45-minute public comment period concluded, the board entered into a closed session until 9:05 p.m.
The proposal was floated at a joint meeting between the Macon County Board of Commissioners and the Board of Health on July 8, where commissioners discussed what they described as ongoing complaints from locals and health department employees about long wait times for permits, chronic understaffing and a toxic work environment. Breeden and Shearl suggested at the meeting that the health board be relegated to an advisory board, with the county taking full control of all policy decisions at the health department.
No speaker in Thursday’s public comment period clearly endorsed the commissioners’ proposal. Public comments centered around ongoing personnel and leadership concerns at the health department and opposition to the commissioners’ proposal to assume control of the health department. Because specific personnel concerns could not be discussed in public, such comments were submitted to the board to discuss during its closed session.
Employees voice concerns
Jessica Jones, a Health Department nurse, discussed staffing shortages. She said, “The last seven months, we’ve only had two nurses instead of the five positions allotted. I’m not here to say anything negative about our health director as a person, but I feel things need to change in leadership style. To say that she doesn’t care about her job in the county would be untrue. To say that she is present and accountable to what’s actually going on would be a lie, and that’s the start of my complaint.”
“This isn’t about pay, period,” Jones continued. “This is about our clinical supervisor not being present … First, there is not an exit interview process for employees that are leaving. It’s ‘leave a badge when you go,’ and the pay is automatically to blame. If that were part of the process, there are multiple people, including nurses that have left for reasons including poor supervision and toxic workplace. Second, numerous complaints have been made by not only myself but other employees to the Board of Health. As I’ve been told by members of your board, this has been a common complaint by many others within this department as well as in the community.”
Jones said she was directed to file a complaint directly with the county commissioners and manager.
“I’m tired of the toxicity, poor management and it’s time for a change … In the last week, there have been discussions, meetings and promises and changes that I feel that would never have happened without the commissioners stepping in and I am grateful for that,” Jones said.
Communicable disease nurse Jamie Waldroop said, “We lost two nurses in the spring in 2024, and another in January of 2025. Since then, it has been Jessica and I. We have an amazing clinic staff. We have pulled together in these difficult times, providing the best quality care we possibly can to our patients.”
Waldroop also noted that staff have been discouraged from speaking to health board members, saying that department leadership “told us if we went to the Board of Health it had to be told to them.” Waldroop said this led some staff members to fear retaliation from leadership.
Medical Office Assistant Peighton Bartell discussed unprofessional behavior she saw from leadership.
“These concerns are not rooted in personal conflict, misunderstandings or ill intentions,” Bartell said. “But out of concern regarding repeated patterns of behavior that have and continue to affect clinic morale, ability to communicate and ultimately the quality of care we are providing to the public … These include, but are not limited to, personal petty remarks, passive aggressiveness, noncommunication, and blatant disregard of staff when qualified decisions and opinions do not align with this particular leadership’s opinions and stances. Not only does this behavior create a toxic work environment, it actively discourages people from speaking up, sharing ideas or raising concerns for fear of retaliation or being dismissed. Personally, I have spoken up about my situations by voicing concerns to both of my immediate supervisors. However, the bare minimum actions were taken to remedy the issues and nothing changed. If anything, things got worse.”
“I want to be clear,” Bartell said, “my goal is not to disparage anyone, but to stand up and advocate for myself, my colleagues and the people in the community to have a healthier, more supportive health department for everyone … We need leadership that shows respect, kindness, empathy, accountability, compassion and openness, which goes along with our field. We all collectively deserve better.”
Lab tech Madison Johnson said, “Over time, it has become increasingly difficult to remain motivated due to lack of consistent and effective leadership … Ongoing issues include frequent miscommunication or no communication about important decisions or changes, unequal enforcement of policies and expectations, unprofessional behavior, and poor follow-through on concerns raised by staff. These issues have contributed to unusually high employee turnover, which is a clear indicator that something within the organizational or leadership structure is not functioning as it should. Many experienced and capable employees have already left and others are actively seeking opportunities elsewhere.”
“Employee turnover has also led to the hiring of underqualified or inadequately trained staff being placed in critical roles,” Johnson said. “New employees are often not given the tools or support they need to succeed, which places an unfair burden on existing team members who must pick up the slack ... One of the most concerning patterns is the lack of professionalism demonstrated by some individuals in leadership positions. Instances of employees being yelled at, argued with, or confronted in front of others, including patients, have occurred multiple times.”
Support for health board
Other employees and community members came to express support for the Board of Health and opposition for its relegation to a role as an advisory board.
Dr. Jimmy Villiard said the change would remove “trained health professionals and engaged community members from meaningful decision making” and “introduces the risk of political influence in areas that should remain guided by science and professional expertise.”
“Public health decisions,” Villiard said, “especially during emergencies, need to be made quickly and based on the best available evidence and not shaped by public opinion, election cycles, or external pressures. But if public health becomes entangled in politics, it can create a confusion, delay important actions, and reduce public confidence in health guidance … More than 20 counties have made this similar move that’s being proposed, but there’s no clear evidence that it’s had a positive health impact. Without a demonstrated benefit, this shift brings more potential risk than advantages.”
Jennifer Germain, the Health Department’s community health promotions coordinator, warned of the loss of the professional expertise that the board is able to bring to the decision-making process if it is relegated to an advisory role. “As someone whose role centers on community engagement and health equity,” Germain said, “I’ve seen firsthand how important it is to have a department that responds to people’s needs without political interference. Our programs serve individuals who often feel forgotten: seniors, low-income families, and minority populations. Their health cannot be protected by politics alone. It requires insight, compassion, and professional guidance.”
Bonnie Morgan of the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program thanked her colleagues for speaking up, but said, “I just want to express my concern about the county commissioners potentially taking control from the Board of Health and what that can mean for the future of this agency. While some complaints definitely need attention, I worry about … a drastic change and how that could damage the long-term integrity of the Health Department. The Board of Health becoming purely an advisory board would risk its future relevance, and especially if their input starts to be ignored or [not] respected which is my biggest concern.”
“This potential permit, power shift is very rushed and poorly communicated,” Morgan said. “There are programs here that are drowning. WIC is one of them. Undermining the department as a whole has impacted credibility for future recruitment, and has weakened the public’s trust in our department, especially since the decision appears politically motivated, in some ways due to lack of communication. Commissioners may lack the time and expertise to manage the daily operations here and I believe should instead work with the Board of Health members to address these concerns through the proper channels, such as our liaisons, when they are needed.”
Morgan said as part of WIC she had not experienced the same toxicity and leadership issues that other staff members had discussed. “We have great morale, communication, and job performance,” she said. “I may not speak for every employee at the Health Department, but in WIC, we feel valued by our leadership, and we have no issues with the Board of Health at this time or some of the leadership.”
Nancy Roman of WIC said, “I can confidently say that our morale in the WIC department is strong. We support one another, we communicate, and we treat each other with mutual respect. While I understand there have been concerns raised and mistakes have occurred, I haven’t been told what those are. I find it troubling that there is a push for the county to take over without transparency or clear communication in this matter. So today I’m asking the county commissioners, let’s work together. Let’s support the leadership that’s already in place and committed to doing better. Let’s fix the problem, rebuild trust, and keep moving forward. For the sake of public health and the community we all care about.”
Amy Medlock, a citizen with human resources experience, also opposed the proposed structural change but said, “I find it odd that we are here due to an administrative issue that could easily be solved with the effective administrative policies not only being in place, but followed by those who were tasked for supporting these employees. It is clear that either those policies and procedures do not exist, are being ignored or the people ignoring them aren’t being held accountable by the board of health or whoever they report to … I will ask both boards, as well as the health director and human resource manager: Are there standard operating procedures for employee complaints? And if there are, why are those ignored? Is there a public employee handbook for all public health workers, including the Board of Health, that states those SOPs and the process employees can depend on should they have an issue, including retaliation policies? Does the Board of Health have a separate SOP in place in the case that the complaint is against the health director or HR? And are those sensitive complaints considered confidential?”
To the commissioners on the board, Medlock said, “You say that you feel that the Board of Health should be advisory only, yet you failed multiple opportunities to incorporate them into the conversation regarding these issues. So how can we as citizens be confident, if you took over and they were advisory only, that you would even consult them? You asked the Board of Health members multiple times if they had a plan in dealing with employee issues, which leads me to believe policies and procedures to protect the employees are, again, either not in place or they are being ignored altogether … And if you aren’t going to hold a couple of health administrators accountable for your lack of action, or their failure to follow documented departmental procedures in what is typically a simple administrative task, then what else are they not being held accountable for?”
Anne Hyder, who formerly served as an assistant health director in Macon County, said, “I’ve worked obviously with many Board of Health members and with many commissioners. Per the statute that defines the makeup of the Board of Health, Board of Health members are appointed by the commissioners, so there is a relationship there. Also, of the 11 members on the Board of Health, there is a commissioner liaison. So with that said, I am just here to say I support keeping things in the structure that it is now.”
Macon County resident Michael McKee warned of the complications that would accompany not only making policy changes to address the concerns brought forward but restructuring the Health Department, saying, “I think there’s been lack of communication, probably for a variety of reasons, but this isn’t rocket science. Let’s find a way to document this information, put a course of action together to review objectively, and then work on solving this before we move to put a lot of energy and effort into building a whole new structure.”
Board of Health response
Responding to public comments, board members Dr. Carlos Vargas, Matt Corbin and Jerry Hermanson all thanked speakers for their public comments and promised to work toward addressing their concerns. Corbin specifically mentioned the possibility of making board members’ contact information more public and increasing the frequency of health board meetings to more effectively address concerns.
“I applaud each one of you who not only stood up and spoke but also showed up to listen, that’s what a democracy is,” Vargas said. “I appreciate this process. I have heard everything everyone has said … I’m sure everyone here appreciates your courage in standing up and stating what’s important to you.”
“I want to thank the commissioners for bringing this stuff to light, because there may be some isolated concerns that we would hear, but I see how things might have naturally gravitated there,” Corbin said. “I appreciate bringing these things more to light so we can see it.”
Commissioner John Shearl also took a moment to address the crowd, saying, “That’s one reason I’m on the Board of Health is because some of the other commissioners have had these complaints for years.”
Shearl went on to say, “I was asked at the last joint meeting why I haven’t brought any of these concerns to the Board of Health. I didn’t realize that my fellow commissioners were also getting inundated by these complaints.”
“Nobody should be in fear of going to their superiors with a legitimate problem … We’ve got to change. We have to change this problem, because it’s not working. And in my mind, it is for the county manager and the HR of Macon County to deal with all of your concerns … I applaud these people for coming in and volunteering their time to serve on this board. And I really think that this board should be an advisory board to the county commissioners and the staff work under the county manager’s direction and HR, and then that way, you will never be told, ‘Don’t go to your superiors for a problem.’”
In a brief back and forth with the crowd, Shearl was challenged on how exactly the county commissioners would be able to resolve the issues discussed at the meeting.
“I can’t get into any details about that. That’s my stance, I was elected by the people to do what I think is right … the cat’s out of the bag now, we’re going to deal with it, and whatever that looks like is how we’re going to deal with it.”
The Board of County Commissioners will hold a public comment session to hear feedback on the proposal at its Sept. 9 meeting. The next regular Board of Health meeting is Tuesday, July 29 at 6:15 p.m. at the Human Services building on Lakeside Drive.
- Shelby Powell
reporter@thefranklinpress.com