The Elkhart County Health Department announced Wednesday that Melanie Sizemore will take on the newly created role of Health Administrator.
Dr. Richard Hostetter, a retired board-certified oncologist, will serve as the county’s Interim Health Officer.
The new Health Administrator position is part of a reorganization of the Health Department to improve efficiency.
Sizemore has served as the Elkhart County Health Department’s Division Manager and Public Information Officer for nearly a decade. She has a Master’s in Public Health from Indiana Wesleyan University and will complete her Doctorate in June 2022.
The health department has experienced a lot of turnover in the past year dating back to the Elkhart County Council’s unanimous decision to reject a $3 million Centers for Disease Control grant that would have funded community health workers for the county’s minority communities.
Shortly after the grant rejection in September, former chairman Dr. Randy Cammenga quit and health officer Dr. Bethany Wait announced she would resign at the end of the year.
In November, three more board members announced they would also resign at the end of the year.
Two vacancies remain — the board appointed Goshen Fire Chief Danny Sink in November and Dr. Houman Vaghefi, an oncologist with Goshen Health, earlier this month.
Contact Kent at kfulmer@wvpe.org.
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