(LAGRANGE) – LaGrange County is looking for a new Health Officer.

During their meeting on Monday, the LaGrange County Commission voted to not reappoint Dr. Tony Pechin, who has served in the position since 2000.

Under Indiana Law, a County Health Officer is responsible for the protection of the health of the citizens in their county. Some of the duties of the Health Officer are providing public health guidance to the various divisions of the local government; and enforcing all applicable public health laws, ordinances and regulations that relate to the position.

The Health Officer must be a licensed physician. But the State of Indiana changed the rules recently how a health officer is selected. In the past, that responsibility was handled by the local health board. In 2021, the law changed, and now the appointment of a local Health Officer must be be approved by “an appropriate county legislative body”, such as a County Commission.

The LaGrange County Health Department did unanimously vote to reappoint Pechin as the Health Officer for a four year term.