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'Roles need to be identified': Spokane health board members seek changes to prevent future conflict

Tension between Spokane's health officer and the health district administrator resulted in the officer's firing amid a pandemic.

SPOKANE, Wash — After a messy and hurried process, Spokane's health officer Dr. Bob Lutz was fired by the board in an 8-4 vote on Thursday night. 

Now, several board members are trying to identify any structural problems that allowed tension to grow into conflict between Lutz and Spokane Regional Health District Administrator Amelia Clark.

"Nobody won. The community didn't win," said board member Betsy Wilkerson, who is a Spokane City Council Member and voted against Lutz's firing. "The issues at the health district are still there. They haven't gone anywhere. There's a tough hill to climb to mend and rebuild relationships."

Wilkerson has expressed numerous concerns about the process behind Lutz's firing. During the public meeting, she repeatedly asked for more documents and evidence to support the myriad allegations made against Lutz by Clark.

"Without that documentation...it was he-said she-said conversations," she told KREM in an interview. "And the challenge for me was, 'If this had been such an issue, why now? What brought it to this point?'"

That's a question many members of the public have as well, with the firing taking place just a day before Spokane saw its all-time highest number of new coronavirus cases.

RELATED: Spokane County, North Idaho report highest number of COVID-19 cases in one day

Wilkerson noted the conflict between Clark and Lutz seemed to accelerate over the course of the pandemic, but wasn't sure whether politics about reopening might have played a role in the sudden ouster.

"It feels like it, but I can't truly say," said Wilkerson. "I can only say, again, I came on the health board the first of this year when I was appointed. I had been to one face to face meeting before COVID hit. I had not heard any of the information that was presented yesterday."

She and fellow board member Breean Beggs, who is president of Spokane City Council, have stated they want changes to the structure of the health district. They believe the roles of the health officer and administrator need to be more clearly outlined to prevent tension.

"I was a little disconcerted when [Clark] did not want [Lutz] writing op-ed articles about things where they intersected with health," said Wilkerson, referring to one of the complaints Clark levied against Lutz. "I thought that was his job."

"What you want from your public health officer is the unvarnished medical opinion they have about what will support public health," Beggs said. "Obviously I prefer that the board, staff, and health officer all see things the same way, but that's not a requirement."

Beggs said the health officer should consult with the administrator and board whenever possible, but that ultimately on public health issues should not be censored. He also said the definition of public health should be broad.

Beggs and Wilkerson want these changes to be made in writing so that there is no confusion for future SRHD leaders.

"Roles need to be identified," Wilkerson said. "Because if not, I would be concerned the next  health officer would encounter some of the same challenges that Dr. Lutz encountered."

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