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Huron County Health Unit firing being questioned
The dismissal of a Huron County Health Unit employee, apparently without cause, has left a sour taste By Lynda Hillman-Rapley
Friday April 11, 2008 The dismissal of a Huron County Health Unit employee, apparently without cause, has left a sour taste in the mouths of many colleagues.
Questions are being raisied stemming from Huron County health-board in regards to the recent termination of the Huron County Health Unit’s executive director, Penny Nelligan, who has been with the county for seven years.
After an in-camera meeting of the committee-of-the-whole held earlier in March, her position was eliminated. The decision did not first go to the Health Board and many of those members wonder why they were left out of the loop. County Warden John Bezaire confirmed both county engineer Don Pletch and Nelligan are no longer employed by the county.
Of those who has raised questions from the dismissal is Dr. Beth Henning, the medical officer of Health for the Huron County Health Unit.
“Penny Nelligan is one of the most accomplished public health leaders I have worked with, and I have worked at Hopkins, World Health and Save the Children.”
The provincially appointed board member Rosemary Rognvaldson said she was informed by county Chief Administrative Officer Larry Adams that Nelligan was terminated during an in-camera session.
“I was flabbergasted and told the CAO I hoped the county was on firm ground,” she says.
Rognvaldson said the board had a special meeting, after the dismissal where it was decided a third party should be brought in. Staff was asked why other board members were advised of the reasons and she was not -- she was told by Adams that Nelligan was fired without cause.
Rognvaldson said she sent a letter to MPP Carol Mitchell and Health Minister George Smitherman about the dismissal.
She says she is not alone in her feelings, noting she wonders how a county council could fire an employee who works under the Ministry of Health. Health-board members Ken Oke (South Huron) and Ben Van Diepenbeek (ACW) said they were given oral information from staff about relating to the dismissal. Van Diepenbeek said the county legal counsel was there to give advice. Ben said the health board was given no time to digest the information.
“We made a decision in short notice,” said Van Diepenbeek. “I believe we did this in haste and the health board should have been consulted once or twice.”
Both Van Diepenbeek and Oke said they put their faith in the material they are given by staff and assume the information is correct.
“We need to find out what happened and move ahead,” said Van Diepenbeek. “We need to know what the process is, and if it was wrong we need to correct it.”
Oke said he assumes the information he received from staff was correct and until he sees differently he has to beleive they made the right decision.
Oke said Nelligan has always been a friend and colleague and that he would be angry if he found out there was a process mistake. Goderich mayor Deb Shewfelt said he has worked with Nelligan since she arrived at the Health Unit.
“I worked with her as a county councillor, chair of the health board and last year’s warden and I found her service and organizing management skills exemplary. I voted against her firing.”
John Grace, chairman of the health board, said he did not feel it was appropriate to discuss this issue in the press.
After the in-camera session Shewfelt told county council he was still a little puzzled about the procedure that was used and expressed concern.
Nelligan confirmed to the Lakeshore Advance she was dismissed without cause but at the same time is extremely proud of her health-unit staff and the work they have done for the community.
The county's CAO could not be reached for comment about the process involved in the termination process as of press time.
With files from Clinton News Record |
