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St. Clair County board directs administrator to pursue physician-assistant hire after nurse-practitioner resignation
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Summary
After a nurse practitioner resigned from the county clinics, the St. Clair County Board of Commissioners directed the county administrator to work with health leadership and the advisory board to pursue creating a physician assistant position; the advisory board had voted unanimously and presenters said the change would be budget neutral.
At the March 19, 2026 St. Clair County Board of Commissioners meeting, a commissioner reported that a nurse practitioner had resigned from the county clinics and that the advisory board of health has voted unanimously to support creating a physician assistant position to report to the medical director.
The commissioner, who introduced the staffing update, said the advisory board and health leadership — including Doctor Nevin and Liz King — support the change and that the hire would be “budget neutral.” The commissioner asked the board to give the county administrator direction to continue working with the health department and human resources on the proposal.
County administrator Tom said the county’s human resources and health leadership met to explore the option but that “there’s some details that still need to be figured out, including wage scale, job descriptions” and contractual language. He told the board that “ultimately, any manning-table changes have to come back to the board for approval,” and that the administration would return with a formal proposal and the required staffing-table changes for a future vote.
The board offered no objection to staff continuing the work and asked the administrator to report back with details at a later meeting. The administrator estimated the process would likely take at least three months before an item would return to the board for formal consideration.
Why it matters: Replacing clinical staff affects service continuity at county clinics and payroll and contracting processes. Board direction to pursue a physician assistant—if later approved—could preserve clinic capacity while keeping projected costs neutral, but the board will still review any changes to the manning table and contract language before formal adoption.
Next steps: The county administrator and health department will finalize job descriptions, wage proposals and any contract language, then present formal manning-table and budget documents to the board for a vote.
