To the Editor: I recently appointed Epidemiologist Eve Walter as the Ulster County Director of Public Health, subject to confirmation by the County Legislature. I would like to describe the appointment process in detail.

The Ulster County Department of Health provides a wide array of services to the public, ranging from summer camp health inspections and septic system permits, to communicable disease control, to preventative health care, to investigating causes of death and providing death certificates. All of these services involve coordination between government staff, health providers, other local institutions, and the public.

The department has a hard-working staff of about 70. The leader of this team needs expertise and deep experience in public health, excellent management and administration skills, and the ability to communicate complex health issues to the public. The landscape of public health changes rapidly, so the department head needs to be both responsive and proactive in addressing the needs of concerned parents, grieving families, and the public at large. It is a challenging job.

County health department heads are appointed for six-year terms. At the conclusion of her second term of office, I informed the serving Health Commissioner, Dr. Carol Smith, that I would be requesting applications for the position. I invited Dr. Smith to re-apply, but I made it clear that it was my responsibility to ensure that we had the best possible person in this critically important role, especially given the term length. Dr. Smith chose instead to retire.

We posted the job opening widely. Over the course of five months, we received about 40 applications. Five of the applicants were licensed physicians, but none of them had the depth of experience in public health and administration needed to effectively lead the County Health Department. New York law does not require a County Health Director to be a licensed physician, but the law does require a certain set of qualifications, as well as vetting and approval by the New York State Commissioner of Health.

To ensure that the process would identify the best possible candidate, I established a multi-step screening process consisting of four different interview panels, made up of experts both inside and outside of government, including members of the County Board of Health and heads of other County departments that work closely with the Department of Health. After the initial screening process and an extensive and thorough first round of interviews with 12 candidates, three candidates went on to meet with three different interview panels, who ranked the candidates. Once reference checks were completed, the top two candidates went before a fourth panel of experts, who again ranked the candidates. In total, over 20 hours of interviews were conducted.

Eve Walter emerged from this process as by far the highest-ranked and best-qualified candidate. Dr. Walter has a Ph.D. in Epidemiology — the study of disease and how it spreads among populations — and 25 years of public health experience. The New York State Health Commissioner has vetted and approved her qualifications. Her resume is far too long to list here, but there is simply no question that Dr. Walter was the best, most qualified candidate, and that she will make an excellent Director of Public Health.

Dr. Walter previously served as an Ulster County Legislator for three years; she left that position 18 months ago. Because of this previous experience, the legislative confirmation of her appointment has become sadly politicized. To directly address the false theories that have circulated: I did not have any candidate predetermined when Dr. Smith retired, and I did not advantage Dr. Walter's application in any way. The hiring process that I established was as extensive and rigorous as it could possibly be.

My goal was, is, and always will be, ensuring that we have the very best people in positions of responsibility to serve the people of Ulster County. It would be a terrible disservice to our residents if the Legislature succumbs to its current myopic political squabble and denies this critically important department the high-quality leadership that it needs.

Jen Metzger

Ulster County Executive