Hi. I don't know where else to turn, so I hope a responsible reporter will read and move forward to investigate the Commissioner of DHR, BJ Walker. I hope Gov Perdue will truly see the damage done to the reputation of GA.
Hired by Gov Perdue to "fix" DFCS, she has wrought fear and despise in the hearts of very good employees, trying to do their best. With her MDiv, she can set the walls on fire, cursing out and be-littling senior management in large staff meetings. Bringing many former staff from Chicago and the attitude she is above reproach, the commissioner has secretarial staff drive her to meetings as tho he is a senior ranking political official, such as a governor. She'll tell her staff ro order her lunch, without telling them what she wants, then curses them out, telling them to return the food, because that' not what she wants!
As her tenure has grown, she has done all she can to bring the excellent national reputation of Public Health crashing to the ground. Her first victim was the nationally recognized and respected Division Director, Dr Kathleen Toomey. Dr Toomey stood for the values of Public Health, continually striving to protect GA's citizens and visitors. Building up the infrastructure, she single handedly sought out the best and brightest epidemiologists and nurses, physicians and support staff, slowly and methodically building an infrastucture at both the state and district level. From food borne outbreaks, to the care of the poor and indigent at the local level to the G-8 Summit, her working relationship within DHR, the Governor's office, federal law enforcement, CDC and many others, resulted in an extremely proud and hard working, result producing Public Health.
The Commissioner attempted to force Dr Toomey to change the direction of Public Health. Forget the healthcare, no need to worry about the investigations of the food borne outbreaks, cut staff to decrease the ability to work with the clinics and hospitals to investigate disease outbreaks, don't focus on emergency and hospital preparedness. Unwilling to bend morally and ethically, Dr Toomey left.
The Commissioner brought in Dr Stu Brown from DeKalb County. Slowly, her desires to get out of direct healthcare came to fruition. He was pushing her agenda....told the Districts to plan to close clinics....consolidate offices and decrease staff. Let the private clinics pick up the indigent...the migrant workers...the illegals. A poor speaker before the Gov and the legislators, the state lost the opportunity for match funding of federal dollars. For those that could not function in DFCS (poor managers), the Commissioner forced Dr Brown to hire them and place them in areas of responsibility (one is under investigation for fraud in a NE state, when she sorked in their version of DFCS). People that did not know anything about Public Health. Additionally, the Commissioner combined several offices, including budget and grants. With the "safeguards" in place, grants and expenditures to satsify federal grants were stalled to the point, they passed funding times. One program attempted to purchase tents for emergency hospital structures, but hit so many roadblocks, GA is on the verge of losing over $7mil for its people's safety. We were becoming the laughing post for Public Health. What Dr Toomey built, the Commissioner was indirectly and effectively destroying. Dr Brown finally left, but not before the slow bleeding of Public Health began. And the Gov cared not!
Now, we have a new and stronger Director of PH. Dr Ford is attempting to get us on track...bring us back to a level of credibility...allowing us to provide the care to the citizens and visitors we need to. She is trying, but....there's the Commissioner and her staff. For those employees paid by federal monies to help GA be as prepared as possible, they are not authorized to travel to meetings outside of the I285 beltway; they are not allowed to purchase items to satsfy the demands of the federal grants that fund the programs; they are not allowed to hire the people that can do the jobs the federal grants require that will be paid by federal grants; they are not authorized bonuses to be paid out of the federal monies for the outstanding work that is being done; they are not allowed to do the work the federal grants are expecting. All this being done, in the name of state wide equity by the Commissioner, at the risk of losing hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not millions, that can be used to pay taxes, used to support local Public Health and healthcare and protect the citizens. And the Gov cares not.
The Commissioner sends out late night reports of what she and her staff is trying to do to help with Gov Perdue's mandatated budget cuts. She explains the need for the cuts and though painful, how they will help in the long run. But will she be affected? Will she forgo using her staff to fetch her a lunch...to drive her car? Will she stop using a state jet or state funding to go back to Chicago every other week or so? Will she stop the hemorrhaging of Public Health?
In one of her latest messages, the Commissioner states all DHR employees, above a GS15, will have to take a furlough day every month, between the 16th and 30th/31st, til June 2009. We are not to answer our blackberry's, our emails, respond if called. She has not said what we will do during the next hurricane response, the next tornado that destroys a town or hospital, a flood that ravages whole communities. Even though many of Public Health employees are paid out of federal, NOT state, monies, it doesn't matter. It needs to be done for equity's sake. She doesn't want others to feel bad....even though the federal money will have to be returned to the federal gov't, we will be penalized for not spending it and we will recieve less next fiscal year! She has gone one step further by stating even the federally funded emplyees wil be rifted, not to save the state money, but just so it looks good to everybody and it shows that she treats all Divisions equitably! And yes, those federally funded programs cannot spend the money they need to spend to support the various programs at the stae and local level!
What the Commissioner forgot to tell Gov Perdue and all of the employees of Public Health----Public Health met the reduction in expenditures in goals as established by the Commissioner. AND THEY COULD BE DONE WITHOUT ANY FURLOUGHS OF ANY PUBLIC HEALTH STAFF. But, she ordered it, because she wanted furloughs to be equitable across all divisions.
Thank you commissioner for destroying the morale of DHR and Public Health. Thank you commissioner for destroying the opportunity for Public Health to serve and protect the citizens and visitors of GA. Thank you commissioner for the massive, uncontrolled hemmorrhaging of Public Health. Enjoy your next tax payers trip back to GA while I'm on my furlough day, wondering how I can work with my creditors...put gas in my very old car...take my family to eat at the local restaurant.
A once loyal employee....
