As coronavirus rages, senators ask: Why has DHEC chief not faced screening panel?
South Carolina’s effort to appoint a health agency leader during the worst disease outbreak in a century continues to lurch along, as the state Department of Health and Environmental Control struggles to deal with a disease that has killed more than 6,000 people in the state.
The S.C. Legislature returned to session this month, but a state Senate screening committee has yet to schedule a hearing on whether to confirm Edward Simmer, a Navy doctor and former military health care official, as director at DHEC.
DHEC has had an interim director since June, and it has lost a number of high-level health officials.
Some senators want the process to move forward soon. But the Senate Medical Affairs Committee, which screens DHEC director candidates, is set to deal with an abortion bill when it meets Thursday morning.
Senate Minority Leader Brad Hutto, D-Orangeburg, told The State it was “outrageous” Medical Affairs was taking up an anti-abortion bill before holding a hearing on the new DHEC director, whose job will be to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.
“DHEC could be on the agenda this Thursday. Thousands of people are contracting the coronavirus and dozens every day are dying,’’ Hutto said Tuesday. “We’ve got a vaccine program we’re trying to get off the ground. All of this actually can happen if we have effective leadership.”
The DHEC board chose Simmer nearly one month ago, but under state law, he needs to be confirmed by the Senate.
Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey, R-Edgefield, told The State the upper chamber had not, as of Wednesday afternoon, received the director’s appointment papers the Medical Affairs Committee needs to schedule a hearing.
That paperwork includes important credit score information, a criminal background check and other important information Senators need for a hearing.
A DHEC spokeswoman said Wednesday night that the agency’s board sent the information to the Senate at 7:50 p.m. Wednesday -- hours after The State posted its story. The State had asked the status of the paperwork at just after 2 p.m. Wednesday.
“We look forward to the confirmation process,’’ said DHEC spokeswoman Cristi Moore on behalf of board Chairman Mark Elam.
When asked about the issue, Gov. Henry McMaster’s office provided a copy of South Carolina law that says it is the DHEC board’s responsibility to submit the name of its appointee to the Senate for confirmation. McMaster appoints the DHEC board.
The DHEC board chose Simmer in December, just days before Christmas. The board took little, if any, action to find a director in the three months after Rick Toomey announced his resignation in late May. Toomey left temporarily after experiencing health problems unrelated to COVID 19 in late March, before returning briefly.
After his departure in June, the board did not launch coordinated efforts to find a director until the fall. It then held a series of meetings, mostly in private with little public scrutiny, before picking Simmer. Only two other candidates’ names were released, and those only came out minutes before the board chose Simmer.
”Yeah, I’m frustrated we didn’t receive it (a nominee) in November,’’ Massey said. “We essentially haven’t had a permanent director at DHEC really since April. And this is the time when we need a permanent director to handle everything.
“The sooner we can get the paperwork and the background information so we can begin reviewing then the sooner we can schedule a hearing.”
Hearings in past years for DHEC directors have occurred later in the winter, but the coronavirus pandemic has put the issue on the front burner. The agency has been heavily criticized for its response, most recently for confusion over who can be vaccinated and where coronavirus shots are administered.
Sen. Dick Harpootlian, D-Richland, said the entire process of finding a director has been too slow and shrouded in secrecy. Because of how the DHEC board responded to the coronavirus and its slow pace of finding a director candidate, Harpootlian said he’s unlikely to vote for Simmer when and if his nomination reaches the full Senate.
Harpootlian has been particularly critical of DHEC’s response to the coronavirus outbreak and to what he says is a lack of leadership by Republican Gov. McMaster.
“Based on the lack of judgment this board has exhibited on every aspect of the pandemic, I have real questions about whether they picked the right guy,’’ Harpootlian said. The board and agency staff have “not made a single good decision since last March.’’
DHEC’s response has come under increasing scrutiny amid confusion over the vaccine rollout. The coronavirus pandemic is unlike anything the agency has dealt with, in both size and scope.
Covid 19 has killed more than 6,000 people in South Carolina since March. The last disease outbreak comparable to COVID 19 was the Spanish flu in the early 20th Century, long before DHEC existed.
Columbia Democratic Sen. John Scott, a member of the Medical Affairs Committee, said South Carolina has had problems in the past because it rushed through agency directors without properly examining their backgrounds.
Toomey’s appointment in late 2018 sailed through the committee, but he quit the agency during the pandemic after about 18 months on the job.
“The committee needs time to go over his (Simmer’s) application, his information,’’ Scott said. “You need to give staff the time to get all the background information on this gentleman.’’
Scott said the state’s failure to require masks and get vaccines out more quickly is the collective fault of state leaders. The DHEC board could have taken stronger action in the absence of a permanent director, but so could the Legislature, he said. Rushing through a director just to put someone in charge at DHEC is not advisable, Scott said.
Simmer recently retired as chief medical officer of the TRICARE Health Plan, an insurance program for military personnel. He owns property in Beaufort and formerly headed a Marine hospital there. He declined comment recently when approached by The State for an interview.
Sen. Tom Davis, a Beaufort Republican who also is on Medical Affairs, said he was impressed with Simmer when they met at the State House recently. He suspects Simmer will be approved, unless information surfaces that no one is aware of.
Davis said the agency needs bold leadership quickly because DHEC’s response has not been adequate in dealing with the coronavirus.
DHEC’s response shows that the agency has a “cautious culture, an anti-risk taking culture,’’ Davis said. “And this pandemic has called for just the opposite. It has called for bold action, innovative action, taking risks, and doing things differently.’’
This story has been updated with a response from DHEC.
This story was originally published January 20, 2021 at 5:26 PM.
