by Blake Herzog
Dr. Tascha Spears, director of the Pinal County Attorney’s Office’s Family Advocacy Centers, was named the new director of the county’s Public Health Services District during the July 1 county Board of Supervisors’ meeting.
After County Manager Louis Anderson made the announcement, Spears told the board she was honored to be named to the job.
“We have a very hard-working, 24/7 working, public health care team at the moment, responding to the care and concerns of our citizens and residents of Pinal County, so thank you for this privilege,” she said.
Spears has been working in the field of domestic and interpersonal violence since becoming a forensic interviewer in 1989, according to a county statement. She is a registered nurse and has a Ph.D. in justice studies from Arizona State University.
She was named director of the county’s family advocacy centers in 2014 and was instrumental in developing the county’s first medical forensics services department, serving victims of interpersonal violence.
Anderson said Spears’ predecessor, Dr. Shauna McIsaac, will continue with the department as its medical director until she retires Sept. 1. “She’ll be issuing prescriptions, she’s our medical doctor, she’ll be providing consult to our public health director,” he said.
Anderson said the public health director and medical director positions used to be separate at the county and will be again, with the search for a new medical director already begun.
McIsaac was appointed public health director in 2017 and had become a more public figure since Arizona’s COVID-19 outbreak began, announcing Pinal County’s first reported case, which was the state’s third, on March 6.
She recommended adoption of a countywide face mask mandate to the members of the Board of Supervisors, who ultimately voted to issue a statement recommending their use in unincorporated areas of the county on June 24.
