FRANKLIN COUNTY — Franklin County’s health director has resigned, alleging threats of violence against her, county Presiding Commissioner Tim Brinker confirmed on Wednesday.
Angie Hittson was hired by the county in October 2007, according to . In 2013 she was promoted to director of the health department, she said on social media.
She is a registered nurse, according to state records, and before working for Franklin County, she worked at St. Anthony’s Medical Center — now Mercy Hospital South — and SSM Health, according to her LinkedIn profile.
But Hittson told the county in her resignation letter that she was overwhelmed by threats during the coronavirus pandemic, Brinker said, as the county worked to trace COVID-19 infections, coordinate quarantines, and hold vaccination clinics.
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“I just think, overall, the blocks of animosity keep stacking up, and some folks are overwhelmed,†Brinker said.
Brinker said he legally could not release Hittson’s resignation letter, because it is part of her personnel file. But he had read portions of the letter aloud to the Washington, Missouri, paper, The Missourian, which .
In those sections, Hittson said she had been subjected to daily verbal assaults and threats of violence and death.
Similar allegations have been reported by other area county health departments throughout the pandemic.
In July 2020, residents protested outside the Jefferson County health department as the county health board discussed a proposal to require masks in public places. The health director later said that some had threatened to protest in front of her home.
In November 2020, the director of the St. Francois County public health department resigned, citing threats and harassment.
Brinker said Hittson has been good for Franklin County. “She served the citizens well,†he said.
Tony Buel, an epidemiologist with the health department, will serve as interim director, Brinker said. The county is looking for applicants to take on the role permanently.
As of Friday, Franklin County’s most recent COVID-19 update, there were 401 new weekly infections, up from 141 during the week that ended on Oct. 29. The county said 11 of its residents were hospitalized with the virus.
“If you’re sick, stay home,†Brinker said.
COVID-19 in Missouri and Illinois: By the numbers
NOTE: On Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) changed how it reports COVID-19 cases and deaths. The department began counting reinfections as new cases, and added epidemiologically linked cases to its counts.
On April 17, 2021, DHSS adjusted a database error that was causing individuals with both a positive PCR and antigen result to be counted as both a probable and confirmed case. This correction removed 11,454 cases that were counted twice in previous probable antigen cases, according the notation. That date's data has been removed from this display.
Beginning March 8, 2021, DHSS began posting county-level data showing "probable" COVID-19 cases detected by antigen testing. Using the historical data from the DHSS dashboard, we reconfigured this graph to include that number in the total.
Missouri updated its data dashboard on Sept. 28. 2020, to delete duplicate cases. This resulted in a decrease of total cases which caused the daily count to reflect a negative number. That date's data has been removed from this display.
NOTE: On Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) changed how it reports COVID-19 cases and deaths. The department began counting reinfections as new cases, and added epidemiologically linked cases to its counts.
On April 17, 2021, DHSS adjusted a database error that was causing individuals with both a positive PCR and antigen result to be counted as both a probable and confirmed case. This correction removed 11,454 cases that were counted twice in previous probable antigen cases, according the notation.
Beginning March 8, 2021, DHSS began posting county-level data showing "probable" COVID-19 cases detected by antigen testing. Using the historical data from the DHSS dashboard, we reconfigured this graph to include that number in the total.
Missouri updated its data dashboard on Sept. 28. 2020, to delete duplicate cases. This resulted in a decrease of total cases which caused the daily count to reflect a negative number.
NOTE: On Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) changed how it reports COVID-19 cases and deaths. The department began counting reinfections as new cases, and added epidemiologically linked cases to its counts.
NOTE: On Oct. 11, Missouri announced that a database error had resulted in an “incorrect inflation†of cases in its Oct. 10 report
Note from St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force: The data includes patients at BJC HealthCare, SSM Health and St. Luke's Hospital. As of Jan. 17, 2022, the data includes patients at the VA St. Louis Healthcare System.
Note from Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services: Note: Due to an abrupt change in data measures and the reporting platform issued by the White House on Monday, July 13, and effective Wednesday, July 15, Missouri Hospital Association (MHA) and the State of Missouri were unable to access hospitalization data during the transition. .
NOTE: On Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) began counting probable death along with confirmed deaths.
