Review shows problems, possible solutions in Pender Health Department

PENDER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — An outside investigation confirms some employee complaints at the Pender County Health Department. The University of North Carolina’s School of Public Health is shedding some light into what exactly the department needs to do to solve management problems.

Controversy over the county’s health director Dr. Jack Griffith and internal affairs led to an independent assessment by UNC’s Gillings School of Global Public Health. One of the biggest problems found was distrust among employees.

Forty-two pages outline both where the health department succeeds and where it needs to improve. The overview of the report points out four main results from UNC’s assessment. One is the health department has had a successful past.
Two, the current problems are indeed fixable. Three, it brings to light gaps in performance. Those gaps are in programs and services, management and employees and financial management. The fourth point gives recommendations on how to bring the divided department back together.

Simply put, the employees expressed concerns about a lack of management, which can inhibit teamwork. UNC described the management as having a “my way or the highway” mentality. UNC emphasized the role of leadership in the department.

The report says leadership is crucial to help motivate employees to set goals and strategies. It also says the department should be open to what they call external input so they can make the right choices when spending public revenue.

UNC also did a financial assessment of the health department. That is expected to be finished by the end of the month.