Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913

Board of Health Appoints Interim Health Officer

The Valley County Board of Health has appointed Daniels County Health Officer Mary Nyhus to serve as the interim county health officer for up to six months. The move comes after Dr. Anne Millard resigned from the position effective Jan. 1, 2021 after three years on the job.

Nyhus is a registered nurse who has served as the Daniels County health officer for a number of years. The board of health decided after a closed meeting on Dec. 21 to discuss Nyhus' credentials to hire her as health officer and Malta-based Family Nurse Practitioner Christy Scoggins as the county’s medical provider of record which allows them to perform immunizations and similar procedures and screenings.

The board cited privacy concerns in order to close the meeting and said they were related to credentialing for the two hires. “There are several privacy concerns related to credentialing and things of that nature that are not part of public domain,” said Lynn Miller in response to a question from the Courier.

After the closed portion of the meeting, the board reopened the proceedings to the public and voted unanimously to hire the two nurses discussing their salary rates for the three-to-six-month period. In a conversation with the Courier on Dec. 22 health department director Lynn Miller said the main reason for the closed portion of the meeting was to discuss Nyhus credentials as an RN and to discuss how she meets the state’s requirements for a health officer.

According to Miller, state law requires that the health officer be a physician, have a master’s degree in public health or have an equivalent level of experience for the position. As an RN who has served in public health positions for years and is currently approved to be the health officer in Daniels County, the board decided to approve Nyhus as the interim Valley County Health Officer until a permanent replacement is found.

Montana law allows for the closure of public meetings in order to maintain an individual’s right to privacy. The law does allow for the individual in question to be given an opportunity to waive their right to privacy. The law requires the presiding officer to weigh the privacy concerns against the public’s right to know before closing a meeting.

Nyhus and Scoggins will each receive $1,250 for the six-month period to be paid out quarterly. The traditional salary for the health officer is $5,000 annually paid out biennially. Those salaries were also decided unanimously by the board.

 

Reader Comments(0)