Last Updated

13 Jan 2003

Source: Washington Post, March 1, 2002.

Chief of D.C. Health Dept. Will Leave Position in May

Walks Steered System During Anthrax Crisis

By Avram Goldstein, Washington Post Staff Writer

Ivan C.A. Walks, the telegenic psychiatrist who guided the D.C. Health Department and the city's health care system through 2 1/2 years of major changes and unprecedented public health crises, submitted his resignation to Mayor Anthony A. Williams yesterday.

Walks, one of the District's highest-paid officials and a man who seemed unfazed by confrontations or cameras, said in a letter to Williams (D) that he would remain in charge of the Health Department through May 1, officials said.

Walks, 45, said he intends to write books and consult on health system design and bioterror -- a subject that catapulted him into the national consciousness through countless network television appearances during the anthrax episode in October and November.

The mayor joked that Walks was a star of "Oprah" because he appeared on her national talk show to discuss anthrax, but his profile grew so high that sources said some mayoral aides fretted that he might be overshadowing Williams and others in the administration.

"I don't mind public attention," Walks said. "I'm comfortable being in the public eye, and the mayor being able to joke about that shows he is comfortable with his Cabinet people bringing credit to the city."

Walks frequently clashed with D.C. Council members over plans put forth by the mayor and the D.C. financial control board to shut down the city's public hospital and privatize the indigent health care system. Last summer, D.C. General Hospital's inpatient units were closed, the last of 2,000 city employees were laid off and a private network of health providers began caring for uninsured residents.

"Things are at a point where we have completed a lot of things that I wanted us to complete," Walks said. "We have handled the first bioterrorism attack in the District and done it very well. We have completed the Health Department's role in the school immunization project, a large public health campaign. We have a string of noteworthy accomplishments as a department."

Williams spokesman Tony Bullock called Walks's departure a "huge loss" to the city. "He's a very talented administrator, and he is going to be sorely missed by this mayor," Bullock said. "Occasionally he can be a bit adamant and animated, but he insists on a level of professionalism that sets a very high standard for the people who work underneath him and in related agencies."

Walks's tenure has been, by turns, controversial and successful. The D.C. General battle, which unfolded over an entire year, grew so heated that at times a police officer accompanied Walks to raucous public meetings. The new system has operated below budget and without the disasters predicted by opponents.

He reorganized the Health Department, with its $1.3 billion budget and workforce of 1,350 employees; eliminated waits for drug abusers seeking detoxification; and upgraded the city's deficient public health laboratory.

Walks kept the city relatively calm and was reassuring in his role as the mayor's chief health adviser during the anthrax scare. He gained favorable reviews for his assessment of the risks related to the contamination of postal facilities and occasionally challenged recommendations from federal health officials.

And, just last week, he released figures showing the city was reducing infant mortality -- a key gauge of a jurisdiction's overall health and social well-being. The city's death rate before the first birthday reached its lowest point ever in 2000.

Walks's opponents were as relentless in their criticism as he was forceful in his advocacy. D.C. Council member Kevin P. Chavous (D-Ward 7) praised Walks for lowering the infant death rate and promoting public health awareness, but he said the decision to close D.C. General distracted Walks from other important issues and "tarnished his legacy."

Council member Sandy Allen (D-Ward 8), who ejected Walks from a committee meeting in December because he delivered documents to her staff later than she wanted, said Walks should be judged on more than D.C. General.

"We did have differences, large differences, over the closure of D.C. General Hospital, but that's only one aspect of the job Dr. Walks had to do," Allen said. She said Walks was "en route to reshaping the health care delivery system for the District."

Walks focused only on positive aspects of his tenure, saying that he had accomplished many of his goals and that he would leave in place a team that could continue the work he was instrumental in starting. He received $198,000 a year, plus an annual bonus.

But in Walks's most recent evaluation, his supervisors gave him less than the maximum 10 percent of base salary as a bonus, sources said. Senior officials told Walks the department needed to improve rodent control, access to substance abuse programs, responsiveness to customers, and inspections of facilities for the mentally retarded.

Walks denied that he was dissatisfied with the bonus and said he has long planned to depart at the end of Williams's first term.

Staff writer Sewell Chan contributed to this report.