Sonoma County interim health officer Kismet Baldwin-Santana takes job with San Mateo

Just two months after she took the job as Sonoma County’s interim health officer, Dr. Kismet Baldwin-Santana has been appointed health officer of San Mateo County.

The move came as a surprise to Sonoma County Health employees, who learned of Baldwin-Santana’s departure through San Mateo County media reports.

Those reports were based on a May 23 news release from the San Mateo County Executive’s Office.

Sonoma County made no public announcement about Baldwin-Santana’s departure until two hours after The Press Democrat reported the news shortly after 1:30 p.m. Wednesday. A county spokesman said departures of county officials are not usually publicly announced.

One local public health employee, who asked to remain anonymous because she feared retaliation from top officials, said she was not surprised.

“A lot of us are hearing it from media outlets,” the employee said. “It’s frustrating but I’m not surprised. We’re circulating the article among ourselves.”

The staffer said she and others have not received any word from Tina Rivera, director of the Department of Health Services, public health’s parent agency.

Baldwin-Santana was appointed Sonoma County’s interim health office on April 6. She replaced Dr. Sundari Mase, who left after three years marked by the pandemic and other major public health issues, such as wildfire recovery.

At the time of her appointment to the interim post, Baldwin-Santana would not say if she planned to apply for the permanent position.

In response to Press Democrat questions about her departure and staff concerns, Baldwin-Santana released a statement expressing her gratitude for being able to serve as Sonoma County’s deputy and interim health officer.

“I am proud to have worked alongside a dedicated group of professional public servants and community partners, under some of the most challenging conditions during the pandemic,” she wrote. “Together, we accomplished great things and had a measurable impact on community health, and we saved lives.”

But Baldwin-Santana did not address public health staff concerns about the lack of information regarding her departure.

Before coming to Sonoma County around the start of the pandemic, Baldwin-Santana worked as public health officer for San Joaquin County. She’s also worked as a neonatologist at Elliot Hospital in New Hampshire and a quarantine medical officer for CDC contractor Caduceus Healthcare.

In her role as deputy health officer, Baldwin-Santana supervised special clinic services, the public health lab, disease control and prevention and public health preparedness.

During the pandemic, she played a key role in addressing racial disparities, and last summer she led the county’s response to mpox, previously known as monkeypox.

The San Mateo news release states that Baldwin-Santana will begin her new post on Aug. 7. She replaces Dr. Scott Morrow, who has worked for San Mateo County for 31 years. Her last day as the local interim health officer is Aug. 4, officials said.

The San Mateo County news release quoted Baldwin-Santana as saying, “As a health officer in the Bay Area, I have worked with many wonderful colleagues in San Mateo County on regional initiatives, including response to COVID-19, mpox, and other public health matters. I’m looking forward to the opportunity to build on Dr. Morrow’s decades of service and commitment to the residents of San Mateo County.”

County spokesman Paul Gullixson said the county does not usually make public announcements about departures of key officials. He said health services leadership will likely address staff internally about Dr. Baldwin-Santana’s many contributions at a time closer to her departure.

You can reach Staff Writer Martin Espinoza at 707-521-5213 or martin.espinoza@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @pressreno.