Four in 10 Wisconsin health officers have retired or resigned since the COVID-19 pandemic began

Nearly 40% of local health department leaders in Wisconsin have left their jobs since March 2020, mirroring a national exodus during a difficult and divisive pandemic. 

In data provided to the USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin, the state association of local health departments and boards listed 33 agencies out of 86 that had lost their top official since the pandemic began. That includes the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, which has cycled through three while managing the state's response to the crisis. 

That's more than twice the number that had left by the end of last year, previous reporting shows. 

"There's always some turnover, but 40% is a little bit out of this world," said Darren Rausch, health officer for the City of Greenfield in Milwaukee County and co-president of the Wisconsin Association of Local Health Departments and Boards. 

In a typical year, they might see a handful of people retiring or leaving for other jobs, Rausch said. The stress of managing COVID-19 outbreaks amid vitriol over stay-at-home orders, mask mandates and vaccination campaigns may have pushed more out sooner. 

Track COVID and the vaccine in Wisconsin:See the latest data on cases, deaths and administered doses

More:FDA committee moves Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine closer to use for children ages 5-11

Nationwide, more than 300 public health leaders have resigned or retired during the pandemic, according to an ongoing investigation from The Associated Press and Kaiser Health News. 

Many health officials have seen tightened limits on what they can do to control disease transmission — at least 26 states in the past year have passed laws weakening government authority to protect public health, Kaiser Health News found. 

Wisconsin's top court has ruled against Democratic Gov. Tony Evers' pandemic actions several times: Striking down his stay-at-home order, ruling that he didn't have the authority to issue multiple health emergency orders, saying he should have sought to limit bar and restaurant capacity through the Legislature instead of on his own and overturning the state's mask mandate. 

Lawmakers in the state Assembly also proposed limiting local health officers' power to close businesses or implement capacity restrictions, though that proposal did not gain traction in the Senate. 

Workforce challenges aren't limited to department leaders, Rausch added. On a recent call with members of the National Association of County and City Health Officials, he said people mentioned struggling to fill environmental health, nursing and contact tracing roles, too. 

In Wisconsin, it's hard to tell how many retirements happened early because of pandemic-related exhaustion, Rausch said. Some health officers — such as the City of Appleton's Kurt Eggebrecht, who left the job in June — postponed retirements to keep overseeing their community's crisis response. 

Among those who've departed for other jobs, Rausch said some may have left to find positions that didn't feel as politically charged. 

A few former officials spoke directly to that challenge as they left, including the former Sauk County health officer, who in his resignation letter decried the county board's attitude toward his department's actions, and the former Milwaukee health officer, who said GOP lawmakers and the state Supreme Court had tied health officials' hands. 

Though most positions have been filled by at least an interim health officer, Rausch said it's difficult to recruit under the current climate.

In a 2020 survey of Wisconsin's city, county and tribal health departments by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, many reported harassment, including verbal assaults and threats of physical violence. 

"People have seen what we've gone through. People have heard what we've gone through," Rausch said. "We're all kind of feeling that pressure." 

Today, data from the association of local health departments and boards show that 69% of health officers in Wisconsin are newer to the job, with five years or less of experience, compared with 20% who have 10 years or more of experience, Rausch said. 

That balance, too, makes it more important to ensure people stick around, he said. Each time a new health officer comes in, they have to rebuild relationships with their local schools, businesses, government partners and community members. That takes time, he said, and isn't easily done while simultaneously trying to control a pandemic.

"Wisconsin has lost a lot of very talented leaders with a lot of experience," Rausch said.

Jurisdictions where a health officer has left since March 2020: Iowa County, Ashland County, Sheboygan County, Outagamie County, City of Cudahy, Polk County, Shawano and Menominee counties, Lafayette County, City of Wauwatosa, Langlade County, Columbia County, Vernon County, Burnett County, Monroe County, Sauk County, City of Milwaukee, Manitowoc County, Rock County, Rusk County, City of Menasha, Green Lake County, Buffalo County, Forest County, La Crosse County, Marathon County, Racine County, Wisconsin Department of Health Services, City of Greendale, Crawford County, Adams County, City of Appleton, North Shore Health Department, Washington and Ozaukee counties.

Contact reporter Madeline Heim at 920-996-7266 or mheim@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @madeline_heim.