Kristine Kaiser: Wos brings spotlight onto DHHS Sep. 27, 2013 @ 05:02 PM Dr. Aldona Wos, the state’s Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, is under fire for questionable hiring practices. It appears that Wos handpicks some people with little or no work experience and offers them lucrative salaries. Her most dubious hires either worked on Pat McCrory’s election campaign or were involved in fundraising for the governor. Wos uses political patronage; she rewards and wants loyalty from her workers. How would she know any different? While she went to medical school and practiced medicine in New York, in North Carolina, she has been a philanthropist and a top-ticket fundraiser. She worked for Bush-Cheney’s bid for the White House and Elizabeth Dole’s first Senate race. George W. Bush gave her an ambassadorship to Estonia for her efforts. Wos’ experience tells her that political patronage is the way to go. Wos’ family’s network gave over $200,000 to McCrory’s gubernatorial campaign. McCrory rewarded her with the DHHS cabinet position. Wos has long benefited from being able to raise and give money to political campaigns. She has received her share of plum positions. Her wealth allows her to forfeit her salary and work for $1 per year. Some might say that’s good; I say it’s not. The state suffers for it. I think that the job is too much for her. The ability to give and raise funds does not say much about her ability to run a massive state agency with 17,000 employees and an $18 billion budget. Numerous complaints have been voiced about delays in DHHS payments to both food stamp applicants and medical providers. Computer glitches abound. It does not say a word about her capability “to reform” Medicaid, moving it from Community Care N.C. to the privatized Partnership for a Healthy North Carolina. Health care is a complex matter. Wos does not seem to have the savvy to do the job well. Incompetency is not unusual when officials use political patronage to fill jobs. The successful hires are often not qualified for the job. Remember the appointment of Michael Brown to FEMA? When Katrina hit, everyone questioned the government’s response to the emergency. It turned out that “Brownie” knew more about Arabian horses than handling catastrophes. So much for political patronage! It often doesn’t work. Since Wos is most likely over her head in running the DHHS, we will see more strange hires. She demands strong loyalty. I suspect that she is not looking for the most qualified people, but for partisans who are willing to go along. These people will ask very few questions and will accept an inferior workplace. Very qualified folks would notice the agency’s poor operation. They are to be avoided; much the same way Wos has avoided the press and its quest for transparency. Wos has called transparency “dangerous.” Of course, Gov. McCrory could ask her to step down, but that’s not going to happen. McCrory states that she’s one of the “smartest” people whom he’s ever met, and that she is “a mentor.” Her political donations aren’t so bad either. Never count her out. Aldona Wos and Art Pope create a new motto for the governor: Keep your friends close and your donors, closer. Wos is safe. McCrory won’t mess with a large donor. McCrory also likes to remind the public that Wos only earns a token $1. The government is on the cheap with the state’s most important agency for the poor. In typical GOP fashion, with complete and outrageous irony, the governor gives a nod to a multimillionaire donor with hopes that she can really understand and serve the unfortunate. It’s a sad day for North Carolina’s poor. Kristine Kaiser is a writer living in Kernersville. Contact her for comments at: mmcclane4@yahoo. Representations of fact and opinions are solely those of the author.
Posted on: Sat, 28 Sep 2013 01:40:46 +0000
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