Dr. Jeffrey Coben, affiliate vp for well being affairs and dean of the School of Public Health at West Virginia University, will function interim DHHR secretary whereas a search is performed for a everlasting alternative.

During final 12 months’s common session of the West Virginia Legislature, lawmakers handed House Bill 4020, which might have cut up the DHHR into two separate entities.

“The DHHR is too big,” stated Senate President Craig Blair, R-Berkeley, on the time. “We need to start down the path of breaking it up so that it’s manageable.”

Under HB 4020, the standalone Department of Health would have included the bureaus of Public Health, Health Facilities, Inspector General, the Office of Health Facility Licensure and Certification in addition to the state Health Care Authority.

A separate Department of Human Resources would have included the bureaus of Social Services, Medical Services, Child Support Enforcement, Family Assistance and Behavioral Health, which incorporates the state Office of Drug Control Policy in addition to the Office of Maternal Child and Family Health.

Gov. Jim Justice vetoed the invoice and stated he would solicit bids for a “top-to-bottom” evaluation of the DHHR to find out the perfect technique for overhauling the company.

The state obtained two bids for the contact, one from DHG Healthcare, which has an workplace in Charleston, and one from the McChrystal Group of Alexandria, Virginia.

McChrystal Group, based in 2011 by retired U.S. Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, was in the end chosen with its bid for a complete of $1,389,973.

The determine included $503,658 for an organizational evaluation, $578,770 for a strategic plan and $307,375 for “additional/optional services,” in accordance with data from the West Virginia Purchasing Division.

McChrystal Group’s bid was greater than $1.3 million decrease than DHG Healthcare’s bid for a complete of $2,710,500.

The determine included $725,000 for an organizational evaluation, $1,350,000 for a strategic plan and $635,000 for “additional/optional services.”

The outcomes of the evaluation, informally referred to the McChrystal report, had been launched Nov. 15.

The report concludes: “To improve West Virginia’s health and human services outcomes, the status quo is not an option; DHHR requires bold organizational change.”

On Nov. 28, the DHHR started implementing a a sequence of modifications based mostly on the report’s suggestions.

Cammie Chapman was introduced because the DHHR’s new deputy secretary of kid and grownup companies and can oversee the Bureau for Child Support Enforcement and Bureau for Social Services and Christina Mullins was named deputy secretary of psychological well being and substance use issues.

Next, the DHHR introduced modifications to inner reporting procedures for a number of departments and instituted a “temporary” agency-wide hiring freeze.

Crouch, who had not but publicly introduced his plans to retire, stated the hiring freeze was crucial with the intention to maintain prices down whereas implementing the McChrystal report’s suggestions.

“The intent of this is to make sure that we can do this within the resources that DHHR has,” Crouch stated. “We’re implementing these recommendations from the McChrystal report through the existing resources that we have, and I believe we can do that without going back and asking for additional dollars.”

On Dec. 7, Jessica Hudson was introduced as chief working officer of DHHR, efficient Jan. 9, and Nicholas Stuchell was named as interim commissioner of the Bureau for Behavioral Health.

Less than per week later, on Dec. 12, Justice revealed Crouch’s retirement plans, named Coben as his non permanent successor and stated James Hoyer, who leads the state’s COVID-19 vaccine distribution efforts, and Dr. Clay Marsh, the state’s COVID-19 czar, would change into “advisers” to the DHHR.

In his retirement letter to Justice, Crouch stated the DHHR has been underneath “constant scrutiny over this past year.”

“Although most of the allegations were aimed at me, it’s the department that has suffered. DHHR staff have become collateral damage. And that is wrong. The staff of DHHR are the most dedicated and smartest group of people that I have ever worked with, and I thank them for their hard work and their loyalty,” Crouch wrote. “That is not to say that DHHR is perfect. We need to continue to make improvements, but the perception that everything is broken is wrong.”

Blair launched a press release expressing “cautious optimism that a change in leadership at the DHHR will be a good first step toward returning the agency to better footing.”

“There’s no question about it: DHHR is not in a good place, and it’s going to take a lot of work to make things right. We believe that it’s going to take statutory changes to make some of these major overhauls, but we hope this change in leadership brings a change to its management culture,” Blair stated. “We look forward to working with Interim DHHR Secretary Dr. Jeffrey Coben as we move forward with advancing significant changes to one of our state’s most critical departments. We wish Secretary Crouch well in his retirement.”

Coben, in his first public remarks after changing into interim DHHR secretary, introduced the reversal of the hiring freeze with the intention to fill Child Protective Services positions within the Eastern Panhandle.

“We have immediately lifted that hiring freeze to try and enhance and improve the workforce,” Coben stated. “If you need a job and you want to join the dedicated team and staff at DHHR, we’re hiring.”

Filling the DHHR’s “number of vacancies” will probably be amongst his high priorities, Coben stated.

“Our first task is to fill those vacancies as quickly as possible, to bust through any logistical red tape that we need to get people on board,” he stated. “We’re also be looking at opportunities to expand additional positions to address the key priorities.”

Other priorities embody enhancing inner DHHR communication and the DHHR “leadership team,” Coben stated.

“These are all things that were recommended in the McChrystal Report, and these are all things that we’ll be actively working on over these next several weeks,” he stated.

Justice, when reflecting on the continued modifications at DHHR, indicated Crouch bears a number of the blame for the present state of the company, but additionally thanked him for his time main the company.

“There are surely things that Bill Crouch could have done a lot better,” Justice stated. “But Bill Crouch did a lot, lot, lot of good, and we need to be thankful for his service.”