State: Health secretary quickly finds himself in hot seat

Health secretary quickly finds himself in hot seat

Anthrax worries have thrust John Agwunobi into the public eye a week after he took over the state Department of Health.

By ALISA ULFERTS

Anthrax worries have thrust John Agwunobi into the public eye a week after he took over the state Department of Health.

TALLAHASSEE -- Last Thursday was Florida Department of Health Secretary John Agwunobi's second day on the job. Oct. 4 also was his birthday.

It was his last day of anonymity.

By that afternoon, Agwunobi was appearing before cameras alongside Lt. Gov. Frank Brogan to announce Florida's first anthrax case in 27 years.

Since then, a second case has been discovered, thrusting Agwunobi into the middle of an unprecedented investigation to determine how the rare bacteria struck not one, but two employees of the Sun tabloid.

"It's clearly baptism under the toughest fire you can imagine," said Thomas Chapman, Agwunobi's former boss at a Washington, D.C., children's hospital.

Agwunobi, a pediatrician known to colleagues as Dr. John, found himself under the hot glare of television lights again Tuesday morning, defending his agency's response to the anthrax cases and explaining why authorities waited until Sunday night to shut down the Sun's building.

Agwunobi's answer: Health officials thought they were dealing with an isolated case until they found anthrax on the late Bob Stevens' keyboard and in the nasal passages of 73-year-old mail room worker Ernesto Blanco. Stevens has died, and Blanco remains hospitalized.

"It was upon confirmation of the second case, sir, and upon confirmation of the keyboard results that the building was sealed," Agwunobi told Good Morning America's Charles Gibson.

Gov. Jeb Bush named Agwunobi, 37, to the $152,000-a-year job last week to replace Bob Brooks, a doctor and former Republican House member from Winter Park who resigned earlier this year to take a teaching position at Florida State University.

At the time, Bush noted the new role Agwunobi's agency would play in maintaining security in the post-terrorist-attack world.

Tuesday, Bush praised Agwunobi's handling of the anthrax cases.

"The poor guy gets hired, and the next day he's on the job, and it was his birthday. And I am really proud of him," Bush said.

That answer doesn't soothe Phenicia Esterine, a librarian with the Sun's parent company, American Media, located in the same Boca Raton office complex. She said the state should have taken steps sooner to protect employees.

"The second they heard about Mr. Bob Stevens they should have shut the building down," she said.

But Sun staff writer Carla Chadick said she thinks the Health Department acted as quickly as possible, given the circumstances.

"I think they did the very best they could with what they knew," said Chadick, who was waiting for word on whether she'll need further tests for anthrax.

"I think we're dealing with something no one's dealt with before," Chadick added.

Agwunobi originally was hired as Florida's deputy state health officer for Children's Medical Services. Les Beitsch, formerly a deputy secretary for health in Florida and now Oklahoma's commissioner of health, said he was on the committee that picked Agwunobi.

"He was head and shoulders above the rest of the group" of applicants, Beitsch said. Agwunobi's commitment to children -- he worked at a nonprofit children's hospital in Washington, D.C. -- and his business education made him attractive to the state.

Brooks, who preceded Agwunobi as health secretary, said he has faith in Agwunobi's ability to steer the state through the anthrax cases.

"He is a team player and a person who will rise to the occasion," Brooks said.

Agwunobi's leadership has shown the state how important the Department of Health is to people's lives, Brooks said.

Yet that department, like all others, is facing possibly severe budget cuts. Up to $100-million in potential cuts has been outlined in Agwunobi's budget. But Agwunobi said Tuesday that his agency will continue its mission in spite of cuts.

Agwunobi was born in Dundee, Scotland, and went to medical school at the University of Jos, Nigeria. He has an MBA from Georgetown University and is seeking a master's in public health from the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health.

He and his wife live in Tallahassee with their three children. When asked Tuesday how often he has seen his wife and children since the discovery of the anthrax cases, Agwunobi smiled wearily.

"Not as often as I'd like."

-- Times researcher Kitty Bennett and staff writers Steve Bousquet and Alicia Caldwell contributed to this report.