RangeMedia
(ed. note: I am including this article because it reverberates throughout efforts to support the homeless community. Dr. Lutz has been a tireless supporter of our houseless fellow citizens. I well remember his presentation of data on the opioid/fentanyl crisis at the April Homeless Coalition meeting - I recorded it!)
Resignation, litigation, politicization
Emails indicate that the recent resignation of politically embroiled Dr. Bob Lutz came on the heels of coordination between his former employer, the Spokane Regional Health District, and the State Department of Health.
Since his abrupt (and potentially illegal) termination as regional health officer by the Spokane Regional Health District (SRHD) in October of 2020, Dr. Bob Lutz has been the face of an ongoing argument about the politicization of public health in Spokane County.
From repeated attempts to draw attention to inhospitable conditions at the Trent Shelter that have led to multiple disease outbreaks, to recent efforts to educate public officials and service providers on the real data behind the opioid crisis in the county, Lutz has been something of a Sisyphean character questing for data-driven, compassionate public health — often to the detriment of his own career.
The most recent development in Lutz’s saga happened on March 11, when he resigned his position as Regional Medical Officer at the State Department of Health (DOH).
RANGE obtained an email from Tao Kwan-Gett, the Chief Science Officer at DOH via public records request that showed that Lutz’ resignation came without warning and went into effect immediately. State Medical Epidemiologist Dr. Scott Lindquist immediately took over Lutz’s duties. It also happened just one week after Lutz presented opioid overdose data to the Spokane City Council.
Lutz declined to comment on his resignation from DOH and whether the timing of his resignation had anything to do with his presentation at city council.
Dillon said he felt like Velazquez and Thompson interpreted his request of data from Lutz as a threat to them. So, at the end of the meeting about the resolution, he asked them point blank: “did you reach out to the state [department] of health to complain about Dr. Lutz?”
According to Dillon, Thompson told him they could not answer that question because it was “a legal matter.” Kelli Hawkins, Public Information & Government Affairs, could not provide comment relating to Lutz due to ongoing litigation, but said she wouldn’t characterize Velazquez’ email as a “complaint,” and sent over a copy of his initial email to Shah.