DATE: August 7, 2018
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: David Pomaville, Director, Department of Public Health
SUBJECT: Appointment of Fresno County Health Officer
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
Confirm appointment of Dr. Sara Goldgraben, effective August 7, 2018, to the position of Health Officer pursuant to Fresno County Charter Section 16.
REPORT
Approval of the recommended action will confirm Dr. Sara Goldgraben as the County Health Officer.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
Should your Board choose not to confirm the appointment, the County would not have a full-time County Health Officer and the Department would continue recruitment efforts.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no increase in Net County Cost associated with the recommended action. Sufficient funding is included in the Department of Public Health Org 5620 FY 2018-19 Recommended Budget.
DISCUSSION:
Pursuant to Section 16 of the Fresno County Charter, with your Board’s approval of the recommended action, the appointment of Dr. Sara Goldgraben to the position of County Health Officer will be confirmed.
In accordance with California Health and Safety Code, section 101000, the Board of Supervisors is required to appoint a County Health Officer who has a medical degree and holds a license issued by the Medical Board of California. The County’s current Health Officer, Dr. Ken Bird retired on March 30, 2018, following over 30-years of service to the County and is working in an “Extra Help” capacity until the new Health Officer is appointed.
After a national search using a seasoned consulting firm, qualified candidates were screened by the consultant and interviewed by the Department of Public Health’s Assistant Director and a community panel consisting of three members with many years of experience in the public health field. A final interview was conducted by Dr. Bird, the County Administrative Officer, and the Department Director. Dr. Goldgraben was selected from the pool of candidates as being the best-qualified candidate.
Dr. Goldgraben most recently served as Public Health Officer in Lake County. She is board-certified and has medical licensure in the state of New York and California. She earned her Doctorate of Medicine from New York Medical College. Dr. Goldgraben attended Stony Brook University where she earned a master’s degree in public health and business administration and an undergraduate degree in engineering.
Critical responsibilities of the County Health Officer include:
• Assisting in the development of health policies;
• Collaborating with, and serving as the public health consultant for a variety of agencies at the local, regional, and State level;
• Directing and evaluating the medical oversight of public health programs;
• Enforcing ordinances of the County pertaining to public health and sanitary matters;
• Enforcing State statutes relating to public health;
• Evaluating existing and initiating changes in programs;
• Issuing and enforcing orders, including quarantine, when prescribed by the California Department of Public Health;
• Issuing health advisories and warnings pertaining to specific illness outbreaks or threats in our community;
• Providing input to the County Emergency Services Director regarding declaration of local health emergencies and disaster response;
• Providing overall leadership and management direction for the department in the enforcement of public health and mental health laws and regulations;
• Providing medical consultation to public and environmental health programs;
• Reporting and control of communicable diseases;
• Serving as the County Registrar of Vital Statistics; and
• Serving as the County Privacy Officer for the purposes of HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996).
The appointed Health Officer will also be responsible for:
• Engaging with health care providers in the community;
• Communicating complex medical information to people with various levels of understanding;
• Providing medical leadership during a public health emergency;
• Providing peer review of County Public Health Physicians;
• Providing technical oversight of the correctional health contracted medical care provider;
• Providing and maintaining ongoing communication with local hospitals and health care providers; and
• Working with the County’s Communicable Disease, Tuberculosis and Sexually Transmitted Disease controller.
REFERENCE MATERIAL:
BAI #9, March 20, 2018
CAO ANALYST:
Sonia M. De La Rosa