photo by: Kevin Anderson/Journal-World File Photo

The Lawrence-Douglas County health department's home at the Community Health Facility, 200 Maine St., is pictured in this file photo from July 2010.

When Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health’s retiring director, Dan Partridge, leaves his role this June, his short-term replacement will be a familiar face.

The Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health board voted Monday night to appoint the health department’s current director of informatics, Sonia Jordan, as interim director effective June 16 — the day after Partridge is set to retire — until the board has completed the hiring process for a permanent successor. Jordan has been with the health department since 2016 and previously worked for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

photo by: Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health

Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health’s director of informatics, Sonia Jordan, is pictured in this file photo. During the health department’s Monday, April 17, 2023 board meeting, Jordan was selected as the health department’s interim director effective June 16.

Before the board voted unanimously to approve Jordan’s appointment, Partridge voiced confidence that she’d be a good choice for the role of temporary steward.

“I think there’s a part of her that wants to do everything she can for this health department,” Partridge said. “She’s been here several years and is very committed to the mission of the health department, so I have no doubt that she would do a great job.”

Jordan’s tenure as interim director will last at least from June 16 to July 5, the targeted start date for the next permanent director. But in the event it takes longer to finish the hiring process than by July 5, Partridge said he’d already spoken with Jordan and confirmed that she would be ready and willing to serve as long as it takes to get the position filled. He added that he’d already drafted an offer letter for a pay bump relative to the higher position, but didn’t specify what that wage or salary would be.

The permanent director search continues to progress in the meantime, according to the board member leading the committee aiding the director transition process, Erika Dvorske. As the Journal-World reported, the search for the health department’s next leader was moving into the active recruitment stage last month. Dvorske told the board Monday that May 10 is now the target date for the firm working with the health department, Scion Executive Search, to identify top candidates and begin scheduling interviews.

Dvorske said the committee wanted to plan to host a broader list of candidates for two rounds of interviews, then narrow the field to just a handful of preferred candidates for a final interview with the full board.

Board members also took a brief look at potential interview questions for candidates. In part, that includes:

* As you think about staff development, tell us about how you utilize a DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) lens in your recruiting, hiring and retention efforts.

* Share your perspective on how the health department can collaborate with community systems and/or organizations in addressing health equity challenges.

* Describe how you’ve approached community collaboration across state agencies, organizations, state legislators and/or national organizations.