WESTFIELD — Joseph Rouse, Public Health Director who helped the City of Westfield navigate the COVID-19 pandemic, died unexpectedly on Friday, Jan. 10.
Rouse worked for the city for 26 years, first as a health inspector from 1998 until 2013, when he was appointed as Director of Public Health. He retired in February 2024 in the wake of an agreement to pay $11,507 in restitution to settle a prosecution for embezzling funds from his union that he served as treasurer, after which the case was to be dismissed.
