St. Joseph County top doctor to resign after clash over crisis center with county commissioner

He submitted his letter of resignation Tuesday morning, before the commissioners went ahead with a meeting where they temporarily halted an effort to establish a behavioral crisis center, Einterz told the Tribune during an exclusive interview, saying the move was the final straw.

Editorial:This community had a solid plan for a crisis center. Then county officials hit pause.

What finally pushed him to resignation, Einterz said, was a conversation he had with commission President Carl Baxmeyer about the crisis center on Monday afternoon. They discussed why Baxmeyer had removed the crisis center’s final approval from the commissioners’ agenda, along with Baxmeyer’s other intentions for the health department, Einterz said.

Among other things, Einterz said, “He (Baxmeyer) told me he was going to try to limit the number of grants I would apply for.”  

Einterz said he feels as though Baxmeyer is “doing what he can to control my position.” 

From the meeting:'Somebody is dying': Advocates protest commissioners pausing mental health crisis center