Updated Jan. 30, at 12:12 p.m.

WEST BRANCH — For current District Health Department No. 2 Health Officer Lynette Benjamin to continue in her position, she must earn her master’s degree in public health.

The requirement is spelled out in a letter from Jean Chabut, deputy director of the Michigan Public Health Administration, to John Moehring, DHD No. 2 Board of Health chairman, dated Jan. 13.

The letter states that the state is willing to allow Benjamin to continue as the provisional health officer as long as she meets a number of conditions.

“Ms. Benjamin will re-enroll in the MSU Master of Public Health (MPH),” the letter states. “Documentation confirming the re-enrollment will be sent to (Mark Miller, local health services director) by March 1, 2012.”

The letter goes on to say that Benjamin must request permission from MSU to complete work for an incomplete class and finish the requirements by Aug. 1. Documentation stating that she completed the course must be sent to Miller by Aug. 31.

She must also resume classes in the MPH program at MSU by September of this year, with her completion date being no later than September 2015.

The letter included a memo of agreement stating all the conditions, which must be signed by Benjamin and Moehring, and returned to Miller by Feb. 1.

“If any of the above stipulations are not met, we will send a letter withdrawing our approval of Ms. Benjamin’s appointment,” the letter states. “We will, at that time, request a plan for recruitment and placement of another health officer, and provide you a timeline for that to occur.”

Benjamin was hired as the health officer of DHD No. 2 in late 2008. At that time, the board asked the state to waive the requirement for a master’s degree in lieu of her experience. The state declined.

Benjamin agreed at that time to take classes to earn her master’s degree, but has failed to complete the necessary courses.

Chabut sent a letter to the board in December of last year stating that documentation had to be sent to the state showing Benjamin was pursuing her degree by Dec. 31.

The board then asked again if the requirement for the master’s degree could be waived. That has been denied as well.

At last Thursday’s Ogemaw County Board of Commissioners meeting, Commissioner Scott Colclasure asked Benjamin what her educational status was.

Benjamin told the board that she had submitted her resignation to the health department last year after the department entered talks with several northern counties about merging their public health services, and that her pursuit of her master’s degree was halted at that time.

“I said, ‘Whoops, if I’m no longer employed, what am I going to do for the rest of my life?’” she told the commissioners. “So what I ended up doing in that time period is getting enrolled in the Naturopathic Institute, going toward my naturopathic degree.”

Benjamin said that she was currently going to school full time for that degree.

“I am going to be a full-time student until the end of July,” she said. “SO what the board is going to be working out with the state is for me to re-enroll so I can get the master’s in public health.”

“(A master’s of public health degree) would help you with managing all aspects of the health department, finances and all that?” Colclasure asked Benjamin.

“You want my personal opinion?” Benjamin responded. “Actually, the master’s in public health does a lot to teach you epidemiology, bio statistics, and introduce you to the public health system. I’ve had 17 years in public health. The public health degree is very good for someone who hasn’t been exposed as many years as I have.”

Commissioner Bruce Reetz asked Benjamin if her completion of her master’s degree was a requirement in her contract for the health officer position.

“It was,” Benjamin responded. “There was quite a bit of lack of knowledge on — here I was in Oregon 3,000 miles away; if anything it was my bad not doing more research to figure out what was the state deeming as being qualified. I have a bachelor’s degree, and if you have a bachelor’s degree, you have to have eight years of full-time service and five years of administration. What was sad is that there wasn’t better communication with the commissioners, and the commissioners didn’t realize that those were the years of service and qualifications that I had.”

Commissioner John West, who also serves on the Board of Health, said that there was no confusion about her requirements.

“We weren’t confused,” he said. “We hired you provisional and the state required you to get your master’s degree in three years. There was no confusion. That was in the contract.”

DHD No. 2 serves the four-county area of Ogemaw, Oscoda, Iosco and Alcona counties.

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