Groff is interim public health director

Stan Groff, Steele County interim public health director, has added another interim position to his duties.
The joint Dodge and Steele County Board for the Community Health program last week appointed Groff to the interim director position following the retirement of Dodge County Public Health Director Peggy Espey who was also CHS director.
The CHS program is a joint program of the two counties in dealing with public health issues common to the two counties and applying and administering public health grants from the state SHIP program and other programs.
Mary Orban of the Minnesota Department of Health’s regional office in Rochester also attended the meeting with board members from both counties as well as staff of both county’s Public Health Departments and the two county administrators.
Following the appointment of Groff as interim director the board will now begin to study the future of the partnership as well as the individual Public Health Departments. Groff has also been serving as the interim director of the Steele County Public Health Department.
The two counties joined together for some public health functions in 1976 after passage of state legislation permitting such an action for counties with less than 30,000 population.
Attending the meeting on her last official day on the job, Espey told board members that she was in favor of Groff taking on the interim position for the joint program but she believed that it would be better for Dodge County to have a separate Public Health director at least until the future organization of public health in the two counties is determined.
“Dodge County has a seasoned staff and I think our department can move forward,” she said, “but CHS needs an interim.”
Dodge County Commissioner David Erickson pointed out that it was imperative that a CHS director be appointed immediately as that was a requirement of the state legislation.
A director is needed immediately, board members were told, so that there would be a person who could sign-off on items that did not need to come before the entire board. The next meeting of the joint board is not scheduled until April.
Dodge County Administrator Jim Elmquist added that it was not necessary for Dodge County to fill its Public Health director immediately.
Orban told the board that Groff would meet the qualifications set by the state for the administrator of the CHS program. The county health board needed to approve the appointment and submit Groff’s name to the state, Orban said.
“Stan fills the bill in the interim,” Orban said.
When Steele County fills their Public Health director position, which has been vacant for over a year, Steele County Board member Nina Huntington said, Groff will only hold the CHS position.
In the coming months the two counties will be looking at their Public Health Departments to decided what additional, if any, programs can be operated jointly.
Dodge and Steele Counties joined together with Waseca County on Jan. 1, 2015, to operate their Human Services Departments jointly. Dodge County also works in cooperation with surrounding counties on other programs under joint powers agreements.