Health Department Lays Off Entire Staff

PUTNAM COUNTY, W.Va. -- The Putnam Board of Health approved a proposal to cut the entire staff at the Putnam County Health Department.

The board agreed on the decision unanimously at an emergency meeting Monday afternoon, which was a continuation of a meeting Friday.

If the proposal is approved by the state's Division of Personnel, 12 full-time employees will lose their jobs.

If the state approves the proposal, the board will be contracting the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department to provide services in Putnam County, and some of the employees cut may get their jobs back through the new setup.

The board says hopefully they'll be able fix their debt problems within the next two years and return to how they used to operate.

After six months, they'll decide if they want to continue contracting through the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department or try something else.

The board says despite all the changes, people in Putnam County will not see any change in the services the health department provides.