(C) El Paso Matters.org This story was originally published by El Paso Matters.org and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . El Paso appoints public health director who had controversial exit from previous position [1] ['Priscilla Totiyapungprasert', 'More Priscilla Totiyapungprasert', 'El Paso Matters', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow', 'Class', 'Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus', 'Display Inline', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar', 'Where Img', 'Height Auto Max-Width'] Date: 2024-06-21 El Paso has a new public health director after more than two years without a permanent hire. The city announced on Friday afternoon the hiring of Dr. Veerinder “Vinny” Taneja, the former public health director of Tarrant County. Starting in August, Taneja will take over duties from current city-county health authority, Dr. Hector Ocaranza, a New Mexico-based pediatrician who served as interim public health director while the city struggled to fill the position. Taneja worked at his previous post from September 2014 to February 2024. He resigned earlier this year, a day after the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported on a 2022 human resources report in which current and former employees described a “toxic and hostile work environment” under his leadership. The city of El Paso’s news release does not mention the human resources report or his resignation. “Dr. Taneja’s extensive background and proven track record in public health leadership make him an invaluable addition to our city,” said interim City Manager Cary Westin in the news release. “His dedication to community health and innovative approaches will undoubtedly advance our efforts to enhance public health outcomes across El Paso.” El Paso Matters reached out to the city for Taneja’s salary, but did not receive a response at the time of writing. He earned $233,000 at the time of his resignation from Tarrant County. Recruitment agency Baker Tilly listed a salary of $108,740 to $201,600 for the El Paso public health director position. Ocaranza will remain in the department as the city-county health authority. Controversial tenure in Tarrant County Tarrant County placed Taneja on administrative leave and intended to fire him before his resignation. County administrator Chandler Merritt wrote in a Feb. 2, 2024, notice that Taneja “created an irreparable level of distrust in your ability to satisfactorily perform the duties of your position,” according to public documents obtained by the Fort Worth Report. At least 16 current and former employees made complaints about their leaders, including Taneja, in interviews with Tarrant County’s human resources department, the Star-Telegram reported. Staff said Taneja made threatening phone calls, sent emails with “extremely inflammatory language,” yelled and cursed at them and dismissed their concerns about mental health and working conditions. Employees also accused Taneja and deputy director Angela Hagy of not following COVID-19 pandemic protocol. Taneja denied these claims in interviews with investigators and his response to Merritt. “My performance appraisals have been great, with stellar scores,” Taneja wrote to Merritt. “I have never had a disciplinary action ever in my entire career. Not even a verbal or a write-up. In fact, I was lovingly called the ‘hardest working man’ in Tarrant County, by several of our county-elected officials.” El Paso Matters late Friday reached out to the city for comment from Westin and Deputy City Manager Mario D’Agostino on whether they were aware of the accusations and how it affected their hiring decision. Taneja’s new role in El Paso Taneja’s appointment follows a string of turnovers in the El Paso Department of Public Health. Angela Mora, the previous director, retired in May 2022. Mora replaced longtime director Robert Resendes, who resigned in May 2020. Resendes and Mora joined the exodus of public health leaders who left amid political blowback during the pandemic. More than 50 people applied for El Paso public health director since November 2022, according to public records obtained in April by El Paso Matters. Taneja’s cover letter and resume were not among the applications El Paso Matters received. It’s unknown if Taneja applied for the job after the city provided the documents. As leader of the department, Taneja will oversee the budget, day-to-day operations and programs promoting the health of city and county residents. Programs include epidemiology, immunization, HIV prevention, public health emergency preparedness and community clinics. He will also be in charge of identifying sources of funding for the department. El Paso Matters late Friday requested comment from Taneja through city spokesperson Laura Cruz-Acosta. Taneja earned his medical degree from the Manipal Academy of Higher Education in India and holds a Master of Public Health from Eastern Kentucky University, according to the news release. He served as the president of the Texas Association of City and County Health Officials from 2017 to 2018. The National Association of County and City Health Officials named Tarrant County Public Health as the Large Local Health Department of the Year in 2017. This is a developing story and will be updated. [END] --- [1] Url: https://elpasomatters.org/2024/06/21/el-paso-hires-public-health-director-veerinder-taneja-tarrant-county-ocaranza/ Published and (C) by El Paso Matters.org Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-ND 4.0 International. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/elpasomatters/