WEST OLIVE, Mich. — The Ottawa County Board of Commissioners held an unusually short meeting Tuesday. The sole topic on the agenda was the health department's accreditation for the next few years.
The health department has been working toward finishing the "Local Plan of Organization" for months. The biggest obstacle they faced was getting a majority of commissioners to approve the documents.
This comes amid months of tension between several commissioners and the health officer.
"I got some comments here, and I'm going to take them and do this because you apparently changed them last night," Rebecca Patrick told commissioners during public comment at Tuesday's.
There were months of working to get this moment.
"I'm very happy that we were able to come to an agreement that was for both our health director and our corporate counsel, and the board was able to move forward on this," County Commissioner Rebekah Curran said.
At the meeting, Ottawa County commissioners gave the green light to the health department's documents for accreditation with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.
Accreditation shows the county health department's work over the past few years. The plan was sent in May but has gone through a few revisions from the county's corporate counsel, Kallman Legal Group, and Health Officer Adeline Hambley.
"Can we have a five-minute recess to review this? This is not the same document that was attached on Friday," County Commissioner Doug Zylstra said.
A few changes were made per Hambley's request. Sources tell FOX 17 one change involved her employment status with the county— which labeled her as interim health officer.
The document was reworked to include, "It is in dispute whether Ms. Hambley is permanent or interim administrative health officer."
The second issue, sources tell FOX 17, was whether the Youth Assessment Survey should be included. We reached out to the health department for comment, which sent us the following statement:
"Michigan public health departments are accredited by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services every three years. The Cycle 8 accreditation period looks at activities of Michigan local health departments for 2019-2022. The OCDPH Plan of Organization (Plan) outlines the organization, coordination, and delivery of services and programs for Ottawa County, in accordance with the Michigan Public Health Code. Among other things, the Plan provides a look back at the previous three years of service to give examples of how OCDPH has met its statutory requirements.
The Plan is, in part, a historical document. Edits were made by County legal counsel to the version of the Plan provided to them in May. These edits were included in the Plan provided in the July 11, 2023 meeting packet, and did not accurately reflect OCDPH's service for the previous three years. These edits were corrected in advance of today's meeting. In addition, legal counsel provided corrections to notations and grammar for clarity. MDHHS accreditation provides evidence of the high quality of service OCDPH provides to Ottawa County residents and contributes to the trust between the community and the Department. A signed plan will allow OCDPH to continue to move forward in accreditation process, which will be finalized in July."
There's been tension between the health department and county commissioners since an Ottawa Impact-majority took office in January. Now, Hambley is suing the county, along with several commissioners, over her title change and what she believes are efforts to terminate her.
More recently, there's been commissioner pushback over the health department's presence at local pride events.
Despite this, the board did unanimously approve the accreditation documents Tuesday.
"She was working with legal counsel, and they made some adjustments and wording, and you kind of think that just a few minor points— nothing to worry about. But, you know, the health officer asked for a change. And, again, through legal now, most of the board," Chairman Joe Moss said.
Now, these documents are going to MDHHS. The, it's up to the state to move forward with approval of the accreditation or not.
