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Residents urge Alger County to review board of health appointments after therapist departures
Summary
Two licensed mental-health clinicians told the Alger County Board of Commissioners that five of seven regional child therapists resigned over the past year and urged the county to reassess its health-board appointees, citing oversight failures and gaps in services for children.
Melissa Carlson, a licensed mental health therapist and longtime Alger County resident, told commissioners at the July 20 meeting that “access to mental health services... has been inadequate for decades,” and asked the board to evaluate whether current appointees to the board of health are effectively representing community needs.
Wendy Young, a licensed clinical therapist who said she served as clinical lead for children’s mental health across several counties, said five of seven therapists who served the multi-county LMS district left last year and asked, “Who in Alger County is looking out for the children?” She said clinicians raised ethical concerns in email threads beginning September 2025 that went unanswered and that children lost access to clinicians as a result.
Both speakers urged the commissioners to review appointments and oversight practices. Melissa Carlson asked the board to consider replacing appointees if they are not effectively fulfilling their responsibilities; Wendy Young urged the board of health to revisit how clinician concerns are received and investigated. Commissioners responded by asking follow-up questions about why therapists left and whether issues had been raised at LMS; board members offered to collect contact information, suggested taking some matters back to the LMS board, and proposed a special meeting to continue the discussion.
The commenters framed their request as a public-safety and access concern for vulnerable children; they pointed to a 2022 community health needs assessment cited by Carlson that showed a large provider shortfall in the region. Commissioners noted the LMS district covers multiple counties and that a single county board may have limited authority over multi-county workforce issues, but accepted contact information for follow-up and agreed staff could bring questions to the board for further consideration.
