Open Process Urged for Health Chief Pick

The county should hold an open, competitive process to choose a replacement for former mental health chief Stephen G. Kaplan, the Mental Health Board has recommended.

The board voted 5 to 3 to urge Health Care Director Pierre Durand to hold off appointing Dr. David Gudeman to the position. Durand named Gudeman interim director of the Behavioral Health Department in March and has indicated he intends to appoint Gudeman to the permanent post.

But a majority of board members at the Monday meeting believed other potential candidates should be interviewed before Gudeman is awarded the job, board secretary Shlomo Kreitzer said.

“What’s the rush?” said Kreitzer, a retired psychologist. “We would like to be sure we are picking the very best candidate for the position. That is our responsibility.”

Supervisor John K. Flynn, however, said impending state and federal audits of the Behavioral Health Department make it wise to quickly fill the post. Flynn voted against the motion.

“This is divisive,” Flynn said. “These audits are like cannons aimed at the county. And they are ready to go off any time. You don’t want a temporary manager handling them.”

Kaplan was forced off the job in March after his merger of the mental health department with the county’s social services agency failed. Federal and state attention to fiscal practices in the county’s health-care system as a result of the failed merger have prompted at least five audits.

The mental health board’s vote is advisory only. Durand has authority to name Gudeman if he chooses, Flynn said.

Gudeman, 39, a psychiatrist, was hired to work in the county’s hospital psychiatric ward in December 1996. He held some administrative duties there as well as treating patients.

Some mental health board members question whether Gudeman has the necessary experience to lead a department with 560 employees and a $50-million budget. But he has the support of many mental health advocates, who say he is bringing new attention to such issues as housing for the mentally ill.