New interim county health director grew up in south county

With the exit of Ray Bullick, the Monterey County Health Department will be guided by a south county product.

Elsa Mendoza Jimenez will take over as the county's interim health services director on Monday in the wake of Bullick's departure this week while a recruitment is under way, according to county spokeswoman Maia Carroll.

Jimenez, who has worked for the county's largest department for more than a decade, including the past three years as assistant director of health, graduated from King City High School as valedictorian in 1994.

Health department spokeswoman Karen Smith said Jimenez's leadership will be valuable as the department creates its annual budget for the 2016-17 fiscal year. 

The department's annual budget exceeds $200 million and includes more than 1,000 employees.

On Tuesday, Jimenez was named by the Board of Supervisors as Bullick's replacement on three key boards, including the Children's Council of Monterey County, the Children and Families Commission (also known as the First Five Monterey County Commission), and the Santa Cruz-Monterey-Merced Managed Care Commission, which oversees the Central California Alliance for Health.