Oklahoma’s Health Department is still struggling to gain its footing after being racked by scandal and turmoil in recent months. In the most recent development, the Health Department’s interim commissioner abruptly resigned this month, after allegations of domestic violence surfaced.
As Oklahoma Watch reports, the Board of Health unanimously accepted Preston Doerflinger’s resignation. Specific details for Doerflinger’s resignation weren’t given.
The interim commissioner’s departure comes just two weeks after a series of public feuds with then-Finance Secretary Mike Romero, involving charges of financial mismanagement and improper testimonies.
Doerflinger had only been on the job since January when the Board of Health set his salary at nearly $200,000—a sizable amount for a state mired in a staggering budget crisis. Last week, the agency's former chief financial officer accused the Oklahoma Office of Management and Enterprise Services of helping conceal the Health Department's multimillion-dollar budget problems.