New GPH Goal: Restore Trust
Adam Litke, named adviser to Geauga Public Health during a special Board of Health meeting Sept. 1, has a goal for the department.
Adam Litke, named adviser to Geauga Public Health during a special Board of Health meeting Sept. 1, has a goal for the department.
“I know we have lost some public opinion, along with the trust that they had in us and the goal is to bring that back. I know the board is very invested in making the county the best county that it can be,” Litke told Geauga County commissioners Jim Dvorak and Ralph Spidalieri at their meeting Sept. 9. Commissioner Tim Lennon was not present at the meeting.
Litke, who has worked for GPH for the previous five years in the finance and human resources divisions, will be overseeing some changes to the health department after the dismissal of former GPH Commissioner Tom Quade at the Aug. 25 board of health meeting.
The board of health also hired Dr. Jennifer Williams-Reid as interim commissioner at the same special meeting during which Litke was appointed to his advisory role.
“My main goal is to bring back the public’s opinion on the health department in the short time that I will probably be there until they find another qualified person to move in the direction that they want to move in,” Litke said.
He also brushed up on the hot-button topic of the moment: schools.
“Our goal is to keep kids in school and that’s the fight right now that everyone is having — how do you keep schools open with COVID?” Litke said. “So we are working on some new guidance there on how to keep kids in school and not have them be shut down any more than they already have in the past.”
Public opinion is seemingly more divided than ever when it comes to mask mandates in public schools, which Litke also touched upon.
“Mainly, I want to make sure the county is not divided because if we are divided, we will fall,” he said.
Board of health President Richard Piraino made a brief appearance at the meeting.
“We have great faith in Adam and as a member of the board, I can say that we are behind him one hundred percent. He also knows that we expect nothing but the best, as we want to make this health department the best it can be for Geauga County,” Piraino said.
Multiple attempts to reach Piraino, Litke and Williams-Reid via email and telephone have been left unanswered as of Sept. 16.
