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Show Mental Health director calls it quits Several months of uncertainty resolved for the Four Corners n al Health Center board and niployees Tuesday when the cen- Suhn,(,"JeCLt0r' Travis Campbell, nutted his resignation. drc j CamPbell, in a letter ad-Jsd ad-Jsd to Carbon County Com-' Com-' MonerJim Simone) .This ktter Rp.i,!! . ly bform the Mental H ?i nAuthority and Mental 'th Board of my resignation as CL utlve Director of Four 5." Mental Health Center, ,,ft've July 31, 1978." Lomra- Simone told The T Je!uIndependent Wednesday Amhnrif r members of the from r ?ne commissioner each . 4m Grand, Emery, Carbon and SaturHV"? Qoxmties will meet letter fm 0ab to consider the ction 1 emion and what ain should be taken. tinistrnrXpreSsed concern for ad-iTS6KWeaknesses ad-iTS6KWeaknesses the the rPl Ch were brought out in menf Uking frm 8 Private 25-26 1 A Survey taken Jan. confidpn additl0n. he expressed K8 h "? the abmty work he centere the cUnical staff at Wife6 fd the Cental Health ' ed for the management survey because of what he termed "deterioration of the center." He explained the board "felt it wasn't progressing as it should." Grand County Commissioner A. Dan Holyoak said that he and the other three Grand County members on the board, Penny Coffman, Jack Olearain and Linda Gold, would meet together Friday to decide what this county's position posi-tion will be relative to the future of the center. While the management survey report was quite negative in many aspects, particularly regarding top-level top-level administration, it also pointed out some circumstances which are responsible for problems. At one point it states, "The combination of a huge catchment area with its transportation and communication problems combined with the political politi-cal complexity of being responsible to four major county commissions creates an almost insurmountable managerial problem for any director." direc-tor." Comm. Holyoak commented he feels Campbell "has done as good a job as can be expected under the circumstances he found when he came." He was hired 16 months ago as director of the center, to replace Mike Williams, who had earlier resigned in similar cloudy circumstances. There has been a great deal of controversy among those associated associa-ted with or interested in the center during recent months. One faction has maintained that it would be extremely damaging to the center to replace the director twice within two years, and that a new director would be difficult to find, given this past track record. Others have felt that poor management has been at the heart of the problems which the center has been experiencing, and that replacement of the current director was the best course of action . The management survey report re-port puts the situation in a nutshell: "we have a complicated problem: A community that feels that they have needs that aren't being met by the professionals who are paid to do the job: a group of mental health professionals who feel that they are doing the job and under adverse circumstances, and are being prevented pre-vented from doing a better job by a lack of good leadership and lack of community support. Each group has clear cut examples of why they feel the way they do. When examined objectively there seems to be considerable evidence to support either group." In his letter of resignation Campbell said, "The recent management man-agement survey submitted by I. W. Griggs and Associates has a few good recommendations for the Mental Health Board to follow which will prevent further administrative adminis-trative and staff confusion. I recommend recom-mend a careful analysis of the contents and immediate implementation. implemen-tation. Of utmost importance is the recommendation on Page 33...." The recommendation noted states: "The director must have a clear reporting relationship with one individual on the county commission com-mission and the county commissioner commissio-ner responsible must understand the need for the Executive Director to retain operational autonomy. The Director's position must be protected protec-ted so that commission members and board members are not taking an active part in day-to-day operational op-erational activities. In addition, the Director's role and its relationship to the board must be spelled out. The mental health board should be a policy body and operate as such." It continues, "It should not, under any circumstances, take an active part in Center operations. Its role must be clearly understood by the members, and the mechanism set up to prevent commission and board member incursion in the (Continued on Pg A2) i Mental health director . . .fc (Continued From Page Al) center operation. ...Unless these roles are clarified no one individual can possibly manage the center j effectively." I Campbell said, "Some of the I board members have been very supportive of mental health and I appreciate their support. Consider-I Consider-I ing the administrative problems at the time I accepted the directorship I i of the center, excellent progress . tl has been made which shall help the ."- next Executive Director." 't He concluded, "The staff of U. the center are dedicated and pro- fessional people. With competent i leadership and total board support '-t I feel sure they will continue to '.. improve the center's delivery of mental health services and to be a ) credit to the communities they l-s serve." |
