The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) and Oceana County Medical Care Facility (OCMCF) meeting held Monday, Nov. 17 was recently appointed Linda East’s first as an official board member. It was also the annual reassessment for the chairman and vice chair of the board. Larry VanSickle volunteered to continue his position as chair for another year, however, board member Dale Danes made the motion to install East in the position instead, which she supported. Subsequently, East motioned for Danes to be named Vice Chair.
For the MDHHS portion of the meeting, the board was presented with the Fiscal Report for the Tri-County (Oceana, Lake, and Newaygo Counties) area. The report included such things as staff departures and hires, caseload support, the efficacy of the county’s economic stability programs and the county’s performance in comparison to state expectations. Regarding the latter, Oceana County is in good shape, as the State of Michigan requests the Economic Stability Administration be at 80% compliance with regulation, which the county exceeds at 95% so far, with all staff meeting or exceeding expectation. The Food Assistance Program is, likewise, requesting counties reduce their error rates to less than 6%, as the Tri-County area sits at less than a 2% error rate, so the state shows no concern.
During fiscal year 2025, 12 employees left the Tri-County MDHHS either due to departure, retirement, or transferring out of the area. This has been offset by three separate hires or transfers in. While more hands would be helpful, the report did point out that, for caseload support, the MDHHS is overallocated in all departments save in the Administration Support Center.
There are 9,055 unduplicated residents (about one-third of the population of Oceana) who receive help from the MDHHS’s various Economic Stability Programs, primarily in the area of Medicaid. The report also stated that, following the restarting of SNAP benefits after the federal government reopening, all resultant issues with recipients have been resolved. VanSickle did inquire about the validity of news reports that people were receiving benefits despite not qualifying for such, and he was assured that everyone who received benefits does qualify for them.
The only action taken by the board at the MDHHS meeting was to pay necessary dues and approve the meeting schedule for the upcoming fiscal year, which was unanimously supported.
For the OCMCF meeting, good news was reported as outpatient therapy numbers continue to increase, with 16 physical therapy and eight occupational therapy appointments taking place in the month of October. The administration had also concluded negotiations with SEI Union, and is waiting for the result of the union’s vote.
The greatest discussion during the meeting regarded the hiring of a new plant manager, following the resignation of Eric Strait after the October meeting. Administrator Kurt Sapp reported that 36 people applied for the position, of which six were called in to interview, and Sapp passed out the applications of the top three picks. Due to the request of HR not wanting personal information on public record, much of the specifics of the applications were redacted, and the board was also informed that the applications would need to be returned to HR at the conclusion of the meeting. It was the OCMCF’s request that the board approve Candidate 1.
As a former plant manager himself, the decision was of great interest and importance to Danes, who inquired what sort of questions were asked. East questioned what qualifications were required on the job posting. Danes raised several concerns about the redaction of the applications and questioned why a candidate he personally preferred had not been interviewed, despite his application. Sapp responded that the candidate in question had previously retired from the facility, lacked supervisory experience and said that some staff and vendors at the OCMCF did not wish to work with the applicant.
According to Danes, much of the concerns regarding the applicant were "hearsay,” and “I think that decision to not interview him is based out of that hearsay.”
Danes went on to discuss the candidate’s qualifications, familiarity with the facility and residency in the area. “I’m not in favor of this [going with a different candidate] at all.”
In VanSickle’s opinion, “The best way to solve [the issue] is start with somebody brand new,” and made a motion to approve Candidate 1.
As the tie-breaker, East said, “I’m not really comfortable seconding a motion of a person that I don’t know who they are,” regarding the redaction of the applications. She initially did not support the motion and wished for the search to continue. Since such action would delay training time for the new hire, and the applications had to be returned to HR that day, Sapp requested that the board give advice on how to proceed with the hiring.
Danes made a motion that the administration interview his preferred candidate, and the ensuing conversation was ended by East seconding VanSickle’s original motion to approve Candidate 1. “In the interest of moving on and turning a new page, I’m going to second the motion. Understanding that there is an evaluation period and people will be watching. The public will be watching. Residents of Oceana County are watching. This is a critical position in this facility,” she said.
Besides choosing a candidate, the board was able to unanimously approve policy changes and employee holiday gift certificates.
Three people spoke at public comment prior to the meeting’s adjournment. OCMCF employees Danielle Roberts and Terri Shafer expressed support for the facility.
Lorri Busick, a volunteer at OCMCF for several years, had issues regarding the job posting for the plant manager, not believing it was thorough enough, drawing from her managerial and hiring experience. However, she did wish she’d been able to discuss her feelings before the approval of the candidate was made.
