PLATTSBURGH — The Clinton County Health Department's new executive director brings bountiful experience and a strong work ethic to the position.
Jerie Reid has been with the Health Department for 25 years and moves into the executive position following the retirement of Paula Calkins Lacombe, with whom Reid worked closely in her role as nutrition-services coordinator and in other positions.
"It's been a very smooth transition," Reid said of her appointment to the director's seat. "Paula and I worked together forever, and it's really nice to follow in her footsteps. She has developed some good systems that I am very familiar with."
Reid emphatically believes in the role public health plays in the overall health-care system.
"Public health is not medical care; the bulk of what we do in public health is preventive care, the maintenance of healthy lifestyles," she said.
"Our mission is to improve and protect the health, well-being and environment of the people in Clinton County."
HOME-CARE TRANSITION
As she plans her agenda for 2012, one of Reid's primary points of focus will be on the upcoming closure of the department's home-health-care services. Last year, Clinton County agreed to sell the home-health-care license to HCR Home Care of Rochester. The county has been providing services in clients' homes for 45 years but opted to privatize the service to save $2 million per year.
That switch is slated to take place in early March.
"The pieces have to be put into place to ensure this transition is as seamless as possible," Reid said. "We have to make sure the new company is ready to take over and provide the quality of care the community deserves."
HCR Home Care representatives have said that the company will retain nurses employed in the county program, but the Health Department will work with those who wish to remain with the department in another capacity.
"It may mean retraining people who are taking on new jobs," Reid said of those who may stay with the department. "We need to make sure those people are adequately trained."
SEEKS ACCREDITATION
The Health Department will continue to focus on maintaining good public health throughout the year, she added.
"We need to utilize those systems we have in place to ensure environmental and safety issues continue to be addressed.
"We will stay on top of communicable diseases and offer preventive services to the community, but we will have to put a hold on any new work" while the home-health-care transition moves forward.
The department has also applied for accreditation through the Public Health Accreditation Board, a process that would ensure Clinton County has the appropriate systems in place to provide the public with competent and reliable services, Reid noted.
"It's a process that the entire staff is working on to make sure we have the best public-health system we can possibly have. It's a wonderful way for the community to know that we are doing all we can" to provide quality public health.
MUCH BETTER FIT
After earning several college degrees, Reid decided that her main interest lay in clinical nutrition. She initially worked in hospital settings but eventually moved into public health, which she said was a much better fit.
"I've always been more interested in the preventive side (of health care), and that is what public health is all about," she said.
She has enjoyed being a part of such local projects as Healthy Hearts and the county's school-based nutrition program. And she has been active in grant writing for several innovations at the Health Department.
She has also played a vital role in the department's relationship with Plattsburgh State through internships to help students realize their potential in a public-health career.
Email Jeff Meyers at: jmeyers@pressrepublican.com
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