Sacramento County health chief who oversaw local coronavirus response resigns
Dr. Peter Beilenson, the head of the Sacramento County Department of Health Services, has submitted his resignation, saying he and his wife have decided to return to their former home in Baltimore to help family with an ongoing crisis.
Beilenson, who has overseen the county’s efforts to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, is among a handful of county health officials who now have left their posts during the pandemic.
Several have quit because of public pressure for unpopular restrictions imposed on the public or because of internal conflicts within counties amid high stress over how to deal with the pandemic.
But Beilenson, speaking to The Sacramento Bee on Wednesday, said he is leaving on his own accord, and not because of the pressure of the job. His last day will be Dec. 22.
“It is not related to the job at all,” he said. “It’s not because of pressure. Honestly, it’s that there are family emergencies.”
Beilenson, who held the Sacramento County position for two years, previously lived in Baltimore for 30 years, where he was Baltimore city health commissioner, then the Howard County health officer, and later president of a non-profit health insurance company.
The Harvard University, Emory University and Johns Hopkins University graduate has battled Parkinson’s Disease for 13 years and had just returned from a leave of absence for extensive Parkinson’s treatments when the coronavirus hit, prompting him and his health department to focus efforts this year almost solely on the response.
Beilenson spent time during the coronavirus epidemic showing up at businesses that declined to shut down to talk them into following health orders or requests. Told of a bar that was jammed on St. Patrick’s Day, he drove over and persuaded them to shut.
He drew ire several weeks ago when he referred to Asian-Americans as “yellow folks” while discussing the need to see racism as a health threat in some ethnic and disadvantaged communities. “It’s a crucial thing we need to be doing to address the issues of the African American, and brown, and yellow folks, as well as the white folks,” Beilenson said. He said the usage was a slip of the tongue and apologized for it.
County officials said they are in the process of choosing a replacement. Beilenson will continue to lead the health department and the county COVID-19 response until his departure. Beilenson and colleague, County Health Officer Dr. Olivia Kasirye, will conduct a public forum on Zoom Thursday evening offering an update of the county’s virus efforts, and answering questions.
The county’s acting executive thanked Beilenson in a statement Wednesday.
“The County’s Department of Health Services has had many accomplishments during Dr. Peter Beilenson’s time at the helm, particularly Public Health’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said acting County Executive Ann Edwards. “I thank Dr. Beilenson for his leadership and wish him nothing but the best in his future endeavors.”
This story was originally published December 2, 2020 at 4:11 PM.