Phillip Tarte was dismissed at the end of January 2021 after more than a year of complaints were waged against him in his role as public health director. (Port City Daily photo/Alexandria Sands)
NEW HANOVER COUNTY Days before the Covid-19 virus first rooted in New Hanover County, then-health director Phillip Tarte was on the brink of losing his job for the second time as his supervisor continued to levy accusations of incompetence.
It was March 2020, and Kathy Stoute, assistant county manager in charge of New Hanover County Department of Health and Human Services, wanted New Hanover County Public Health Director Phillip Tarte removed.
Vaccinations proceed for healthcare workers and people ages 65 and older at New Hanover County’s MLK Jr. Community Center. The county has the capacity to administer thousands of doses weekly, but was allotted a 300-dose minimum amount from the state for the next few weeks. An additional 700 doses were added this week. (Port City Daily/Courtesy New Hanover County)
NEW HANOVER COUNTY The state’s top health official acknowledged that mega vaccine events were partially to blame for as many as 18 counties receiving no vaccines last week, in a Jan. 26 letter to vaccine providers.
New Hanover County was told to expect at least 300 units weekly for first doses for the immediate future, though public health has the capacity to administer thousands of doses weekly, according to a spokesperson.
The number of people who are vaccinated more than doubled over the past week. On Jan. 18, a total of 573,130 doses had been given across N.C. By Jan. 27, that number was up to 1.18 million. (Port City Daily/Courtesy New Hanover County)
SOUTHEASTERN NC Approximately 300 days into the pandemic, North Carolina is continuing to see Covid-19 cases rise as health officials double down on efforts to vaccinate the people most at risk of infection.
As of Saturday morning, North Carolina has reported 752,627 cases and 9,287 deaths. The seven-day rolling average for new cases remained relatively stable – 6,199 on Jan. 18 and 6,168 on Jan. 30.
The percent of test results returning positive has fallen, though, from 10.5% to 8.4%. Health officials previously have considered a positivity rate of less than 5% a goal in slowing the spread of the virus.
Several community vaccination events, running parallel to New Hanover County’s by-phone appointments, have led to more than 600 vaccinations among members of minority communities. (Port City Daily/Courtesy New Hanover County)
NEW HANOVER COUNTY With New Hanover County deep into the process of vaccinating people 65 and older, officials are proactively reaching out to minority residents, going beyond the call-center system that schedules the bulk of vaccine appointments.
“We began immediately when we noticed that the number of minorities in that 75-and-older group were not getting through on our phone lines,” Linda Thompson, chief diversity and equity officer for New Hanover County, said.
Former New Hanover County Health Director Philip Tarte signs a beam at the now-finished Department of Health and Human Services headquarters. The reasons for Tarte’s departure are unclear. (Port City Daily/Courtesy New Hanover County)
NEW HANOVER COUNTY Phillip Tarte, the director of the New Hanover County Health Department, is no longer employed with the agency, a county spokesperson confirmed Friday. The county’s website lists David Howard previously Tarte’s deputy as interim health director.
Commissioner Rob Zapple said Friday that County Manager Chris Coudriet told commissioners Tarte is no longer employed by New Hanover County.
Tarte was hired in 2016 to lead an agency with 120 employees and a budget of nearly $11.6 million, according to a report at the time by StarNews Media. His starting salary was $130,000. Tarte is from Whiteville and worked as health director of Union County prior to coming to New Hanover.