Swan song, sour notes
Submitted by James Protzman on Sat, 05/05/2007 - 10:56am
Lynne Bonner at the N&O does a decent job today chronicling the decline and fall of community mental health under the "leadership" of Carmen Hooker Odom and Mike Easley.
Easley responded to calls for her ouster with public statements of support. He and Hooker Odom emphasized Friday that she has had plans for months to leave for the health-care policy foundation, where she has served as a member of the board.
"Secretary Odom told me in January that she had this extraordinary opportunity to have a nationwide, even global, impact on critical health policies," Easley said in a statement. "I wish her all the best in her new endeavor and I appreciate her effective leadership and hard work during the past six years as head of the Department of Health and Human Services. She has handled one of the most challenging jobs in the state with great skill and compassion for all those the department touches."
So Mr. Mike knew Carmen was leaving back in January. Which means Mr. Mike knew Madame Secretary already had one foot out the door while a completely mismanaged meltdown of community mental health was going on in North Carolina.
The state could not change mental health as profoundly as it has without making some people angry, Hooker Odom said. "The hardest time of any transitional change is when you're in the middle of it," she said. "If everybody wasn't ticked off, we wouldn't be making change.
Pardon me if I do a little word-smithing to make the point more clearly:
The state could not
change mental health as profoundlydecimate mental health as it has without making some people angry, Hooker Odom said. "The hardest time of anytransitional changeattempt to dismantle an important safety net is when you're in the middle of it," she said. "If everybody wasn't ticked off, we wouldn't be making change.
In other words, when government leaders set about to destroy mental health services in a transparent appeal to free-market fundamentalists and anti-tax zealots, "everybody" is gonna get ticked off.
No shit.
Trackback URL for this post:
http://bluenc.com/trackback/6349
- James Protzman's blog
- Login or register to post comments
this
is what i think of her job
Draft Brad Miller -- NC Sen ActBlue :::Liddy 44 Brad 33
Actually - it explains a lot of things.
I wonder who Gov. Mike has in mind to take her place? Since he's had since January to think about it - surely he's got a replacement all lined up and ready to go.
Meanwhile, patients continue to fall throught the cracks. Without mental health parity, and without adequate funding for public safety net programs, our citizens who need help the most will be hurt most, while Ms. Hooker-Odom goes off to her glamorous, globe-affecting career.
Feh.
_____________
The Den
My darling girl, when will you understand that 'normal' isn't necessarily a virtue. It rather denotes a lack of courage." - Alice Hoffman, Practical Magic
Oh, Yeah?
If we're in the 'middle of it' - why are you leaving Ms. Hooker? Make a big fat mess and leave it for someone else to take care of? I wish you well in your new job, too.
I hope they figure out your style much quicker than NC did.
Goodbye.