Three area health officials seek to resign from their positions.

At a special meeting called for today, the Panhandle Health District Board of Health will decide whether to accept the proposed resignations of its district director, human resources specialist and financial officer.

District spokesperson Jennifer Ekizian told the Coeur d’Alene Press on Wednesday that she could not comment on the specifics of the proposed resignations, as they have not yet been finalized.

“The resignations were submitted directly to the board of health,” she said. “A lot of information is going to come to us all at the same time.”

Erik Ketner, a Boundary County native, was named Panhandle Health director in May 2024 but has been with the district for upward of 25 years.

Christine Crummer has also been the district’s financial officer for the past 25 years.

“She essentially was embedded in our community,” Ekizian said of Crummer. 

Sandee Riggs was hired as the district’s HR specialist in October 2022, according to her LinkedIn account. Riggs has been with the district for about four years.

Idaho has seven public health districts. The Panhandle Health District is in Public Health District 1. Panhandle Health oversees five clinics within this district, including clinics in Benewah, Bonner, Boundary, Shoshone and Kootenai counties.

The district has historically been funded by all five counties, with Kootenai County, the most populous of the five, allocating the most funds. In May, the county commissioners initially denied a district budget request that proposed a 2% cost-of-living adjustment for its employees and changes to its clinical services.

During a budget hearing in June, Kootenai County Commissioner Bruce Mattare asked about the district’s income models.

“If we can't make this work,” he said, “we gave it a try and we’re done with it.”

The Panhandle Hospital District offers several services beyond its clinics. This includes Women, Infants and Children, substance use, chronic disease and epidemics programs and more.   

Another major service the district provides includes environmental health and remediation. This includes mitigating contamination from mining activities in the Silver Valley, Ekizian said.

“Over the last 50 years,” she said, “they have been replacing 18 inches of soil for residents affected by the Bunker Hill contamination.” 

In addition to voting on the three resignations, the Panhandle Hospital District Board of Health agenda includes the possible appointment of a new acting district director with set compensation and authority, as well as acting HR and fiscal positions.

Today’s special meeting is slated for 5 p.m. at 8500 N. Atlas Way in the second-floor Kootenai Room. The meeting will be open to the public. You can also access the meeting on the PHD YouTube page or via Microsoft Teams at panhandlehealthdistrict.org.