In the midst of combating the coronavirus pandemic, Orange County officials Thursday are looking for a new public health director amid the abrupt resignation of the department’s de facto chief.
David Souleles, who has been the county’s deputy agency director of public health services since the end of 2003, had been filling in for Richard Sanchez, who stepped down as Orange County Health Care Agency director last month to take over as the head of CalOptima, which provides insurance for the county’s indigent.
Souleles, who is in charge of public health for the Health Care Agency, took the spotlight for the county on COVID-19 issues when Sanchez took his new post. On Tuesday, Souleles presented a preliminary plan for the eventual reopening of Orange County to the Board of Supervisors.
On Monday, Souleles informed county CEO Frank Kim and the Health Care Agency’s interim director, Bob Wilson, that he was retiring. Souleles’ last day in office will be May 1.
“I am proud of the accomplishments of public health over the past 16 years I have been here, and know that the staff in Public Health Services will continue to do good work moving forward,” Souleles wrote in his resignation letter addressed to Wilson.
On Wednesday, Souleles sent an internal email to staff announcing his plans to retire from government service after “nearly 32 years of professional experience working in public health.”
He added, “I am looking forward to the opportunity to spend more time with family in the weeks and months ahead. It has been a pleasure and an honor serving with each and everyone of you. Together as a team we have done great work to protect and improve the health of our community. You are truly an exceptional team of dedicated public health professionals and our neighbors are better off for the work that you do.”
Kim told City News Service that Lilly Simmering, the assistant director of the county Health Care Agency, will take over for Souleles while a new chief of public health is recruited.
“We have a staff behind David that’s 2,700 employees strong,” Kim said. “I think we’re going to be OK, but we’re working on our back-up plan, as you can imagine, as fast as we can.”
Kim said he has finished job interviews for a new Health Care Agency director and expects to make an announcement on Monday.
Supervisor Doug Chaffee told CNS the news of Souleles’ departure was “disappointing.”
“He seemed to be doing, in my view, an excellent job,” Chaffee said. “He had a good grasp of everything.”
Officials had appeared to be grooming Souleles to take over for Sanchez.
“I thought he would be the leading candidate to replace Richard Sanchez,” Chaffee said. “I think there is disappointment, because he was doing a great job for us.”
Chaffee did not know why Souleles decided to resign in the middle of the pandemic.
“There’s something personal there, but he’s not shared it with me,” Chaffee said, speculating there may have been “too much stress” with the job. The supervisor added there may be a morale problem within the agency, but that everyone is dealing with those kinds of issues under the quarantine conditions.
He said he expected Kim to look “to the board for an opinion before making a choice” on a permanent replacement.