State Mental Hospitals Administrator To Retire
John Rodriguez, deputy director for long-term care at the Department of Mental Health, on Thursday announced that he will retire from the position, which oversees the administration of the state's mental hospitals, the Los Angeles Times reports. Rodriguez will leave the position at the end of June.
DMH spokesperson Kirsten Macintyre said Rodriguez' retirement is not related to an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice into quality of care issues at state mental hospitals, adding that Rodriguez has been planning his retirement for more than a year.
According to the Times, the announcement "came as a shock" to hospital personnel and union officials, with some raising questions about how Rodriguez' retirement would affect reform efforts and whether other DMH personnel would leave the agency.
Rodriguez has worked at DMH since 1997 and has worked for the state for 32 years (Romney, Los Angeles Times, 5/20).