Santa Cruz County Health Director To Resign

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, CA — Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency Director Mimi Hall is stepping down Oct. 30 after three years of service to the county.

Hall is leaving to follow "other opportunities in the health care field," the county said in a statement. Santa Cruz County will begin a nationwide search for her replacement.

Hall spent 20 years in the public sector, working in health care departments in Plumas, Sierra and Yolo counties, the county said.

“My time with Santa Cruz County has been immensely fulfilling and marks the end of more than two decades of public service in California’s local health jurisdictions,” Hall said in a statement. “I have tremendous gratitude for the opportunity to have served during such a crucial period in history. I’m especially grateful to have led such a wonderful staff, whose dedication during these unprecedented times helped protect the people of Santa Cruz County.”

The county recognized her leadership during the coronavirus pandemic and called her "a tireless advocate for improving the health outcomes of all county residents."

Hall rose to the challenge and was an inspiration, said Carlos Palacios, county administrative officer, in a statement.

“Her focus on equity and using data and science in taking action to protect residents set a high bar," he said. "We will miss her greatly.”

The pandemic took a toll on Hall.

She and County Health Officer Gail Newel opened up about the graphic, chilling threats and pushback they received for their pandemic leadership on the popular WBEZ show "This American Life."

Hall began calling her husband each day while walking out of her office and to her car as a precaution, she told the show. She said she bought a shotgun at the sheriff's recommendation, shielded her address under a newly enacted privacy law and installed gates at her driveway.

Hall installed security cameras after the fatal ambush on Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Sgt. Damon Gutzwiller, which occurred two miles from her home.

The pandemic "really changed how free I feel to, like, be my authentic self in the community," she said on "This American Life."

Hall was born in Myanmar, where her parents — both doctors — "practiced under austere conditions" in the rural countryside of the Magway region, according to her biography. They immigrated to the United States "to escape military rule, human rights violations and violence against ethnic minorities," her bio said.

“Through my parents’ commitment to the people of our village, I learned that health, through equitable access to basic needs like sanitation and food and medical care, is a human right, ” Hall said in her bio. “I have dedicated my professional life to upholding these principles to improve the health of the community.”

Hall went on to receive bachelor's degrees from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the University of Hawaii at Manoa. She began her career fighting the prevalence of HIV/AIDS and other communicable diseases, according to her bio.