AGENDA STAFF REPORT

Agenda Item AGENDA STAFF REPORT ASR Control 22-000215
MEETING DATE:	03/08/22
legal entity taking action:	Board of Supervisors
board of supervisors district(s):	All Districts
SUBMITTING Agency/Department:	County Executive Office (Approved)
Department contact person(s):	Colette Farnes (714) 834-2836
	Sandy Florez (714) 834-7360

Subject: Appointment of Dr. Regina Chinsio-Kwong as the County Health Officer

ceo CONCUR

County Counsel Review

Clerk of the Board

Concur

No Legal Objection

Discussion

3 Votes Board Majority

Budgeted: N/A

Current Year Cost: N/A

Annual Cost: N/A

Staffing Impact:

# of Positions:

Sole Source: N/A

Current Fiscal Year Revenue: N/A

Funding Source: N/A	County Audit in last 3 years: No

Prior Board Action: N/A

RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):

Relieve Dr. Clayton Chau of the role of the County Health Officer with Dr. Chau remaining in the role of Health Care Agency Director.

Appoint Dr. Chinsio-Kwong as the County Health Officer for the County of Orange effective March 11, 2022 and delegate authority to the County Executive Officer to set salary and terms and conditions of employment.

Create executive position (Class Code 4579E3) in the Health Care Agency for the County Health Officer.

SUMMARY:

Appointing Dr. Chinsio-Kwong as County Health Officer will allow ongoing Public Health response to the COVID-19 pandemic and enable Dr. Chau to lead Health Care Agency development and implementation of multiple pressing health care initiatives.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

Pursuant to Government Code 24000(s), a Health Officer appointment and compensation requires the Board of Supervisors approval. Accordingly, the CEO is making a recommendation for the appointment and salary of Dr. Chinsio-Kwong as the County Health Officer.

Following the resignation of the County Health Officer in June of 2020, Human Resource Services (HRS) conducted a County Health Officer recruitment but were unable to find an ideal candidate due to the significant demands on public health professionals as a result of COVID-19. Due to the critical need to fill the position of the County Health Officer, the Board of Supervisors and County Executive Office (CEO) appointed Dr. Clayton Chau to the role of County Health Officer in addition to his role as the Director of the Health Care Agency on August 25, 2020.

The County Health Officer provides management oversight to the Deputy County Health Officers and Chief Nursing Officer. In addition, the position will provide lead management responsibility in public health for clinical compliance and quality assurance activities. The County Health Officer has a broad authority to take actions to protect the public's health and safety. The core public health functions mandated such as disease surveillance and control activities, are carried out by public health staff under the authority of the County Health Officer.

Dr. Chau has served in the dual role as the Health Care Agency (HCA) Director and the County Health Officer since August 25, 2020. In fulfilling both roles, Dr. Chau represented Orange County in state and federal level discussions regarding COVID strategy and policies, including mass distribution of vaccinations, rapid tests, and addressing health inequities brought about by COVID. Under Dr. Chau’s leadership, Orange County has consistently maintained its lower COVID rates in comparison to its neighboring Southern California counties. Alleviating Dr. Chau of the County Health Officer responsibility will allow him to focus on the state’s CalAIM initiative, the largest healthcare reform in recent California history, as well as build a local public health system that is tailored to the needs of Orange County residents.

Dr. Chinsio-Kwong has served as the Deputy Health Officer since November 23, 2020, following her hire from an open, competitive recruitment. She has worked closely with Dr. Chau in meeting the challenges of responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. In her role as the Deputy Health Officer, Dr. Chinsio-Kwong was the Deputy Operations Director overseeing clinical operations with responsibility for clinical leadership, coordination and implementation of the massive Operation Independence vaccination efforts. Additionally, Dr. Chinsio-Kwong has been a critical point of contact for the media related to COVID, supported efforts to partner with community groups and clinics on increasing health equity and updating protocols to improve response to emerging threats to community health.

Dr. Chinsio-Kwong has been a physician since 2009 when she served as a Senior Medical Officer/Physician in the Navy. She has a professional Osteopathic Medicine doctorate from Western University of Health Sciences - College of Osteopathic Medicine, Pomona, California and is certified by the American Board of Physician Specialties in Integrative Medicine. She has been employed in the health care field for over 11 years and includes a strong operations background. She also maintained her practice as a physician providing primary care, wellness physicals and management of patients’ chronic illnesses until July 2019 when she accepted the position of Medical Director at Providence ExpressCare. In this role, she was responsible for pioneering the growth and expansion of the ExpressCare clinics to the California healthcare market using a virtual care platform; opened and operationalized 24 clinics; and developed a COVID-19 testing model for Southern California regions to rapidly respond to the COVID pandemic with immediate transition of providers and to virtual platforms and providing rapid COVID testing to community and hospitals. This experience was an immediate benefit to HCA when tasked with setting up the Operation Independence Points of Distribution Sites (PODS) and Mobile PODS for COVID-19 vaccinations. Dr. Chinsio-Kwong has the demonstrated management and leadership experience to assume the role of the County Health Officer.

FINANCIAL IMPACT:

The negotiated salary for Dr. Chinsio-Kwong as an Executive Manager is $127.59 hourly/$265,387.20 annually. The total estimated FY 2021-22 financial impact is approximately $60,000 annually. Based on current FY 2021-22 funding, these increased costs are anticipated to be funded as follows:

State: 36%

FED: 28%

Fees/Other: 32%

Net County Cost: 4%

These funding percentages are an aggregate of various funding sources within multiple programs that will be supported by this appointment.

Appropriations for the increased costs are included in the FY 2021-2022 Budget for Budget Control 042 and will be included in the budgeting process for future years.

STAFFING IMPACT:

N/A

ATTACHMENT(S):

Attachment A - Resume
Attachment B - Government Code