Bell could be back in old post

Texas Tech physician Todd Bell drew much praise and support during his 10-month tenure as health authority for Potter and Randall counties.
His resignation, which came amid an investigation of a Stratford nurse practitioner he oversaw, was as a surprise to many around him. It was a sign of weakness from a highly-regarded man.
However, Bell’s replace to the post, Dr. Roger Smalligan said after his appointment from the Amarillo Bi-City-County Public Health District board last night that Bell could return as health authority.
“I would not want to rule that out,” Smalligan said. “It was just an unfortunate situation that happened from someone so far away abusing the supervisory position.”
The nurse practitioner in question, Ward Palmer, drank on the job and inappropriately prescribed narcotics, according to the Texas Board of Nursing. He has resigned his nursing license.
Charges have not been filed in the case and Bell is not the subject of any investigation.
Those who know Bell have nothing but positive things to say about him.
Bell has kept his duties with the Texas Tech School of Medicine in Amarillo, but also gave up his license to issue certain controlled substances as well as his health authority position on Nov. 23.
I analyze Smalligan’s comments from last night as saying Bell gave up some of his responsibilities to save face and could return once the legal cloud over Stratford settles.
Regional School of Medicine Dean Richard Jordan called Smalligan an “emergency replacement” for Bell.
No one has expressly said Bell will return as health authority, but Smalligan is at least hinting such a thing may occur.

City-county health board has problems with attendance

The Amarillo Bi-City County Board of Health held its quarterly meeting this week and one board member was noticeably absent.
Actually, it wasn’t too noticeable since he hardly ever attends meetings.
Dr. J. Taylor Carlisle has only attended 26 of the 73 board meetings since his appointment, according to the minutes from the latest meeting. The physician at the Amarillo Diagnostic Clinic barely attends one in three meetings.
What’s the point?
To be fair to Carlisle, the board rarely votes on matters. It listens to city staff members of five departments (public health, environmental health, the health authority, animal control and the city’s office of Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children – better known as the WIC Program) give updates on city business.
The seven-member board sometimes has trouble drawing a quorum of four.
The Potter County Commissioners Court appoints two of the board’s members. Carlisle is one.
Randall County and the city of Amarillo each point two. The city of Canyon appoints one.
I’ve attended nearly 10 of these meetings since coming to Amarillo, probably more than Carlisle and most members in that time.
This board serves little function to city and county operations in Amarillo. It’s mainly a formality.
However, it could provide more oversight of five very important city departments. But how is that possible when members like Carlisle don’t care enough to attend formal meetings once every three months?

Head scratcher on H1N1 in Amarillo

Surprised. Puzzled. A little concerned.
Those are all ways to describe how Amarillo public health officials feel when thinking about why their city has not seen any cases of H1N1, the virus commonly called swine flu.
“Right now, we haven't been able to find an explanation as to why that's the case,” Amarillo Public Health Department Director Matt Richardson said.
State health officials have confirmed more than 4,200 H1N1 cases and almost 200 more are still pending.
Still, none have appeared in Amarillo and only one – a recently confirmed case in Hemphill County – has shown in the Panhandle.
Other West Texas cities, Lubbock, Abilene, San Angelo and Wichita Falls, have reported multiple cases. None still in Amarillo.
Why?
Health officials can offer a few possible reasons, but they say there is no scientific reason as to why the virus shouldn’t have appeared locally nearly four months after it first showed in the state.
Only a relative handful of flu cases are tested for H1N1; those patients who are hospitalized with flu-like illness.
“Certainly in Amarillo, we don’t have as many of those as other communities,” Richardson said.
He and other Amarillo health officials have asked state and regional experts to explain why Potter and Randall counties don’t have H1N1 cases.
Still no answer has been given.