(Cincinnati, Oh.)--After a two year search the Cincinnati Board of Health has approved the hiring of Melba Moore from the Saint Louis Health Department, as the Queen City's new Health Director.
Melba Moore has been St. Louis' health commissioner for nearly two decades and in 2015 became the St. Louis Health Department Director.
News reports today indicate though that her tenure was marred by accusations that she creates a hostile work environment in the office and that the departments functionality has been hindered by high staff turnover. The Saint Louis Post Dispatch reports several current and former staffers as saying at least eight employees from the department’s fiscal office have left in just the last year. Currently the newspaper reports about 15 percent of the health department’s 114 positions are vacant. The paper also cites that one of the main complaints from health staffers in the office is a lack of training and retention.
The Post-Dispatch also cites an anonymous letter recently sent to city officials signed by “Concerned Citizens” that states the St. Louis department’s low retention rate “is due to the belittlement and blatant disrespect for those who work for (Moore),”
Moore, will reportedly be under contract earning $180,000 a year, when she is set to take over the Cincinnati Health Department later this summer.