Mayor Adrian Fenty on Friday fired the director of the D.C. Department of Health in an effort to turn the $1.8 billion agency toward what he called “a more aggressive public health strategy.”
Dr. Gregg Pane, health director since mid-2004, was replaced on an interim basis by Dr. Carlos Cano, who had served as senior deputy director for the agency’s Community Health Administration. Sources said Fenty had been talking about firing Pane for weeks.
“Public health is a critical priority for my administration, and we look forward to finding the right leadership to take an aggressive and innovative approach to addressing health issues facing the District of Columbia,” Fenty said in a statement. “Dr. Cano has been a great asset to the department, and I look forward to working with him and his team to continue serving the vital needs of our residents.”
Fenty said he would launch a national search to find a permanent director.
Pane, a holdover from Mayor Anthony Williams’ administration, was reappointed by Fenty late last December. He had won praise from D.C. Council Member David Catania, chairman of the health committee, for leading a “sea change” of reform at the agency.
Catania had a great professional relationship with Pane, but the council member nevertheless respects and supports the mayor’s decision to fire him, he said Friday through a spokesman.
Pane in January announced a major streamlining of DOH, reducing the number of health administrations and eliminating several top deputies. But he wasn’t able to do much with the department’s troubled HIV/AIDS administration, and he recently was dealt an embarrassing blow with the return of hundreds of thousands of condoms that residents feared were defective.
There’s been “a growing sense” among some in the health care community that “Dr. Pane may not be the right one to move things forward with theinnovation, to accept the responsibility and to stand up to some of the political pressure that the Department of Health director has to face,” said Sharon Baskerville, executive director of the D.C. Primary Care Association.
Baskerville described Cano as someone committed, passionate and innovative.
Cano, a native of Argentina, joined DOH in October 2005. Through the 200-employee Community Health Administration, he oversaw more than 50 federal and local health programs.
