Two top Arkansas Department of Health officials at the forefront of the state's coronavirus outbreak response received pay raises in March after department secretary Dr. Nate Smith raised the issue in a personal message to the governor.
Dr. Jennifer Dillaha and Dr. Naveen Patil each received 10% pay raises amounting to an additional $16,426 a year for Dillaha and $19,378 for Patil, according to departmental records obtained through a public-records request.
The annual salary for Dillaha, who serves as senior physician specialist and state epidemiologist, increased from $164,260 to $180,686. Patil, who works as chief physician specialist and medical director for the infectious disease branch, saw his salary increase from $193,781 to $213,159.
Officials from the Health Department and the governor's office said the raises for Dillaha and Patil were requested before the pandemic struck.
According to copies of text messages between Smith and Gov. Asa Hutchinson obtained by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette under the state's public-records law, the health secretary asked the governor about raises for the two officials around the same time the virus was beginning to sweep through the United States, bringing much of daily life to a standstill.
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On March 24, Smith wrote to Hutchinson: "Governor, I would like to talk with you about the salary increases for Drs. Dillaha and Patil. These were in process before the COVID-19 epidemic, and these 2 have been performing at an extraordinarily high level before and during the current crisis."
Records didn't indicate whether Hutchinson replied by text. But according to the Health Department, the raises were approved in a memo from the state's Office of Personnel Management the next day, March 25, and the raises went into effect.
"As Sec. Smith said, Drs. Dillaha and Patil have been doing an amazing job during this Pandemic and before," Hutchinson said in an emailed statement provided to the Democrat-Gazette by a spokeswoman.
"The raises that were approved were requested and justified before the health emergency hit Arkansas," the governor said. "So, the raises are not a result of the extra work during the Pandemic but their previous promotions and merit."
The governor's spokeswoman, Katie Beck, did not respond when asked to describe what specifically the governor did to ensure the raises were approved.
Other Health Department employees received raises of 10% or more between Feb. 7 and May 7, records show, but Dillaha and Patil were the two officials with the highest salaries who received raises during that timeframe.
No department employee initially earning more than $75,000 a year received a pay raise during those months, according to the records, and none received a raise that pushed the annual salary into six figures.
Smith's annual salary is $225,306, according to the Health Department. His most recent raise was in June, when his salary increased by $3,329.
In an email, Health Department spokeswoman Meg Mirivel said Dillaha and Patil "fill key positions within the department that are more important than ever under the current circumstances."
"They are both leading the [department's] response to this pandemic, working seven days a week to fulfill the mission of the [department] -- to protect and improve the health and well being of all Arkansans," Mirivel added.
Dillaha's salary increase March 25 gave her the title of state epidemiologist, in addition to her title of senior physician specialist, according to Mirivel.
Between October and March 25, the Health Department had no designated state epidemiologist after the departure of Dr. Dirk Haselow. He vacated the position Oct. 8, Mirivel said, but she did not explain why he left.
During that period leading up to the pandemic, the role of acting state epidemiologist was held by Shirley Louie, who according to Mirivel serves as deputy state epidemiologist and director for the Center for Public Health Practice.
When asked if the department anticipates a cut to its budget during the upcoming fiscal year at the same time Dillaha and Patil received raises, Mirivel wrote, "It's unknown what may happen in the future."
Information for this article was contributed by Kat Stromquist of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Metro on 05/13/2020