Department of Public Health hearings continued after respondent absent, notice testimony

The Department of Public Health’s Board of Examiners adjourned and continued multiple scheduled hearings on Sept. 9, 2025, after the respondent in one matter did not appear and a fire alarm interrupted the session.

The action affected a hearing listed as Angels Memorial, petition number 2025-925, where the respondent was not present and the department’s attorney said the department would proceed to establish service and notice. The board subsequently continued the hearing and other scheduled matters to a later date and instructed staff to reissue notices and exhibits.

Why it matters: the board must establish that respondents received proper notice before holding a hearing. During the brief proceeding, a Department of Public Health employee testified about the department’s attempts to notify the respondent, and the board said it will reschedule all affected hearings and circulate exhibits earlier to avoid repeated delays.

Department attorney Aidan Baum told the board he and department counsel would assist with the matter. Baum said the respondent was not present when the board proceeded to address the record and evidence in the Angels Memorial matter.

Department staff member Mr. Gordon testified about the department’s notice process for Angels Memorial. "I sent it via email with a read receipt and respond once the person opened up the email. I also sent certified mail with return receipt cards, and I sent regular mail," he said.

Gordon said notices were sent both to the business and to the listed agent of service on the Secretary of State filing. When asked about a corrected notice, Gordon said the corrected notice addressed a change in the statement of charges rather than an address correction.

Frank Manna, identified in the meeting as Department of Public Health staff, reported a separate licensing matter had already been corrected. "We had reinstated that. We had rectified that. So he's good until next year," Manna said, referring to a license reinstatement discussed earlier in the meeting.

The hearing record shows the respondent in Angels Memorial failed to appear. With the respondent absent, the department asked a board witness to be sworn and established, for the record, the department’s mailing and email attempts.

The meeting was interrupted by a fire alarm and the board adjourned the hearing. After reconvening briefly off the record, board members instructed staff to re-notice the continued hearings and to circulate exhibits and the statement of charges to the entire board earlier. One board member emphasized that all future exhibit packets and the statement of charges should be distributed before a scheduled hearing to ensure the board can proceed on time.

Board administrative actions at the Sept. 9 meeting included approvals of minutes from previous meetings and a motion to close the meeting; several scheduled hearings were continued and will be re-noticed. The board asked members to send availability to the chair to schedule a special meeting and cautioned that emailing the full board could constitute an unintended quorum.

The board did not make a final determination on Angels Memorial on Sept. 9; the matter will be continued and re-noticed. The department indicated it will provide new hearing dates and will re-send exhibits and the statement of charges to the board prior to the next session.

Other procedural notes from the meeting record: the board clerk and department attorneys confirmed that corrected notices were sent when the statement of charges changed and that service attempts included certified mail, regular mail and email to the agent of service on file.