On Wednesday, Dr. Teresa Frankovich, the Public Health Officer who has guided Humboldt County in the Covid Crisis made public her resignation. Her public letter stated that she was leaving what started out as a part time job but thanks to Covid became more than a full time job to "make good on some promises to my family." She is 60, her husband is 70, and she has a parent in her care.
"COVID-19 response, in some form, is likely to be needed throughout much of 2021," she wrote. "As I am unable to continue in this full-time position for that duration, it makes sense to plan for a replacement at a time when we are in a fairly stable position and not in the middle of a surge in activity."
While these are valid reasons, we await further reporting (realizing that we could be waiting for a very long time) to understand whether she was forced out. This does come soon after her public conflict with Humboldt State University over their returning hundreds of students to Arcata. Even if she wasn't politically pushed, being called racist by a university president with no more credibility than the fact he is Black, could not have bolstered her enthusiasm for the job. In her media avail on Wednesday, she denied that any form of "bullying" caused her to resign.
She also decried the intrusion of politics into science. (Speaking of science, six returning HSU students have tested positive so far, including two who live off-campus.)
Regardless of the reasons, this is a distressing trend for public health executives in the public eye during the covid crisis. Personally, my entire trust in the county public health response was due to my trust in Dr. Frankovich. She is a hero.
Dr. Frankovich remains the Public Health Officer until her replacement is hired and the transition completed. She then plans to serve part-time.
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