GRAND HAVEN, Mich. — The Ottawa County Health Officer is speaking out, after she says she was blocked from communicating with the public.
Adeline Hambley held a virtual meeting on Monday, to inform the public that she’s lost access to the health department’s social media pages, and that any posts they may see is not on behalf of the department or health officer.
Hambley says, the department no longer has access to X, formerly known as Twitter, or their Facebook page. That access has been removed because they’ve been locked out of those accounts by administration. They’ve also lost access to the county’s mail subscription platform and are unable to send communication to subscribers.
This comes days after Hambley released a proposal on social media, showing what could happen if the department's budget gets cut to $2.5 million, which she says would likely close the department within weeks of the start of fiscal year 2024. Earlier on Monday, Ottawa County officials pushed back on those claims, calling them false and disingenuous.
“It's important for the Ottawa County Health Officer to be able to have the powers to inform and speak with the public as soon as possible if there is a threat to health, and there could be an outbreak. It can also be a threat to funding for providing essential services to the community,” said Hambley.
She adds, that is no longer the case and that the department is now unable to do that. However, they are looking at other ways to communicate with the public.
Hambley did not specifically say what the new communication would look like or how soon it would be implemented. FOX 17 will keep you updated as we learn more.
