Rosemary Bakes-Martin, deputy director of the El Paso CountyDepartment of Health and Environment, now occupies the top spot atthe department - but it's not a spot she hopes to stay in.
Bakes-Martin was named acting director after the Board of Healthrecently dismissed Dr. Tisha Dowe. She doesn't plan to seek the No. 1job permanently. Bakes-Martin, who is not a doctor, says the boardshould seek a physician with a strong public-health background forthe job of director. She is more comfortable, she says, in the deputyrole.
'I prefer to work behind the scenes,' she says. It's not clear howlong she'll be in the spotlight. The board has not publicly discussedhow it will search for a new director, nor has it offered a timeline.
Bakes-Martin, 56, joined the Health Department in August 2000after nine years at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention inAtlanta, and she formally remains a CDC employee. The HealthDepartment pays about three-quarters of her annual $88,000 salary tothe federal agency, which funds the rest and issues her paychecks.
'We've kidded about that,' says Larry Schaad, who worked closelywith Bakes-Martin in assuming the new Health Department post ofdirector of bioterrorism and emergency preparedness last fall. 'Wecall her a rental deputy director.'
The job here offers her a chance to be closer to family - she hasa daughter in Denver and a son in Grand Junction - and to gain hands-on experience in public health. Part of her time at the CDC inAtlanta was as program manager for the National Public HealthPerformance Standards Program, an effort to develop standards forpublic-health practice.
The CDC supports employees getting practical experiences throughinteragency agreements such as hers, Bakes-Martin says.
'I have very little obligation to CDC, even though they help payme. During this time, they expect me to do the job that I am here todo.'
As acting director, Bakes-Martin directs a staff of nearly 250 andguides the day-to-day activities of an agency that touches the livesof every county resident through restaurant inspections, monitoringof communicable disease and other services. Schaad says thedepartment is lucky to have her.
'She brings a tremendous wealth of public-health expertise fromthe federal sector. She's very down to earth, very personable. Ithink staff (members) feel really comfortable in coming and talkingwith her.'
Bakes-Martin describes her leadership style as one of mentoring.Michael Hatcher, a longtime co-worker at the CDC, agrees.
'She has a lot of respect for those that are capable around herand gives them latitude to work and get the job done,' Hatcher says.'She is as steady as a rock as a manager.'
Bakes-Martin grew up in Burlington, Iowa, the oldest of fivechildren.
Her mother was a nurse and she was interested in the medical fieldat an early age, but her interests lie more in the lab than in acareer as a nurse or doctor.
She earned a degree in general biology and medical technology atthe University of Iowa, then underwent a one-year medical-technologist internship at St. Anthony's Hospital in Denver.
She spent the next 20 years in Colorado in a variety of jobsbefore going to work in Atlanta.
'I feel like my careers have built upon each other,' she says. 'Itwas maybe a natural progression that I hadn't planned.'
She has continued her education, completing her master's in publichealth last year.
Bakes-Martin, who in addition to her two grown children has a 17-year-old son at home, acknowledges she doesn't have much time foroutside interests. She enjoys live theater and Colorado's naturalbeauty although she doesn't go hiking as much as she'd like.
She once thought she might like to end her career in Washington,D.C., but she now hopes to stay in El Paso County.
'I'm glad to be back in Colorado,' she says. But she knows herfuture here rests in the hands of the Board of Health, the CDC andwhoever is chosen to lead the Health Department.
The department has had a stormy history in recent years. Dowe wasdismissed after fewer than three years on the job. Her predecessor,Dr. Steven Englender, was fired by the board in 1998 after 16 monthsas director.
Bakes-Martin praises the staff as resilient in light of thatturmoil and devoted to serving as a watchdog over public health.
'I really have a lot of respect for this staff.'
- Bill Radford may be reached at 636-0272 or comics@gazette.com
