OTTAWA COUNTY — Ottawa County Community Mental Health is bringing back a familiar face to serve as the department’s interim director as the search for a permanent director moves forward.

Dr. Michael Brashears, who previously served as the CMH director, will take over management duties on May 21, the day after current Director Lynne Doyle’s planned retirement.

Doyle, 59, who replaced Brashears in 2013, announced her planned retirement on April 19 after taking an extended medical leave.

She served as deputy director under Brashears and held several positions in Ottawa County over the past three decades.

Currently, CMH Deputy Director Anna Bednarek is heading the department.

According to Michigan Mental Health Code, the board must "appoint an executive director of the community mental health services program who meets the standards of training and experience established by the department."

According to Michigan's Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, those qualifications include:

• A physician, psychologist, social worker, registered nurse, or other human services professional who has at least a master's degree, three years of professional experience in his or her field of training, and one year of experience in the administrative supervision of mental health programs.
• A person who possesses at least a master's degree in a field of management relevant to the administration of a county community mental health program with three years of professional experience in management and one year of experience in the management of human services programs. The areas of community mental health administration, hospital administration, public administration, institution management, business administration, or public health are deemed to be relevant fields of management.

If a candidate does not meet the minimum education and experience qualifications and the board requests review, the candidate could be deemed qualified if he or she is found to "have substantially met the education and experience requirements of this rule."

The Ottawa County Board has the power to reject the initial appointment of the next director by a two-thirds vote within 15 calendar days of the appointment, according to state statute.

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Over the past six months, a slew of county directors and officeholders have announced their retirements, including the sheriff, prosecutor, treasurer and deputy health director.

The Ottawa County Board of Commissioners, currently controlled by far-right fundamentalist group Ottawa Impact, also fired its second administrator in as many years in February, which has led to the fifth lawsuit the county has faced in 14 months.

After a five-year stint as the CMH director, Brashears joined Hope Network in 2013 as vice president of national clinical systems to help advance the organization’s healthcare strategy.

He also has worked with David’s House Ministries and Be Better Holland, serving persons with mental illness and intellectual and developmental disabilities, according to a news release from the department.

“Dr. Brashears was a great asset to the steering committee as we worked over the social rec programs and came up with how we're going to move the committee forward to discuss the millage renewal,” said CMH board member Chris Kleinjans, who recently was elected to the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners.

During her time heading CMH, Doyle helped execute the county's mental health millage as needs outpaced available state and federal dollars. In March 2016, voters approved the 10-year millage, which generates an estimated $3.2 million annually.

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