The Lake County Health Department will replace former executive director Tony Beltran, who quietly left in June after he accepted a new position with a national health firm, officials said.
“He did a tremendous job here,” County Board Chairman Aaron Lawlor said Monday. “It’s sad to see him go but we’re happy for him as a person.”
Director of Prevention Mark Pfister, a 25-year veteran of the health department, will serve as interim executive director, Lawlor said. The Lake County Board of Health will set up the structure for a candidate search to find a permanent replacement.
Health Board President Tim Sashko said the board has confidence in Pfister and has no plans to rush the search. He added that the search will definitely will include an opportunity for internal candidates to be considered for the position.
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Sashko said it has not yet been determined whether a consultant will be hired to help with the search, but he said he is confident the existing staff is up to the task if the board decides not to hire outside help.
Beltran joined the health department in the spring of 2013 and helped it completed of a comprehensive strategic plan and become accredited nationally by the Public Health Accreditation Board, Sashko said.
“We’re in a holding pattern right now,” Sashko said. “We’ve established a new path for the organization (through the strategic plan), and we’re comfortable with where we are.”
Sashko added that a lot of the health department’s current direction is “a result of (Beltran’s) design.”
“He did a lot of good in a short period of time,” Lawlor said.
Health department spokeswoman Leslie Piotrowski said Pfister “brings a wealth of experience in public health” to the interim appointment.
“Under Mark’s leadership, the organization will continue its strategic planning efforts which will focus on providing quality care to the organization’s patients and conducting requisite public health services for all county residents,” she said.
Piotrowski said the health department “is appreciative of Tony’s vision and push for integration between behavioral health and primary care services and focus on stronger relationships with managed care organizations.”
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