I walked into Westfield City Hall, as well as the Westwood Building during City Hall renovations, for over 360 Health Department meetings. Except for the evening I was shopping at Cabela’s in Connecticut and forgot all about the meeting. Last week was my last Board of Health meeting. I chose, after 30 years on the board, to not seek reappointment.
I was first appointed in 1994 by then-Mayor Richard K. Sullivan Jr. Thank you, Rick, for setting me on this path. I joined Dr. Bill Long and pharmacist Bill Aiken on the board with long-term director Dan Reardon. Thank you Bills and Dan for taking me under your wing.
Our meetings were in the Health Department in the back corner office. There was a fairly high stage which the board sat up on. It was frightening. Thankfully, that stage is long gone. With my nursing background, I focused on the word health, ignorant of the many and varied issues a local health department deals with. Nervously sitting through my first meeting, I realized I had a lot to learn.
I was educated by many, too numerous to name. Noteworthy is executive assistant and office manager Margaret Doody. Margaret could answer any question regarding the Health Department or City Hall. Her institutional knowledge is amazing. I was honored to have her by my side then, and on the board many years later. Thank you, Margaret.
I thank my past and present board members, the Health Department staff and everyone else over the last 30 years who helped me along the way. I want to thank those who have sent letters, cards and emails expressing appreciation and support. Your words meant a lot during the dark days of the pandemic. It is very important to give a shout out to other city departments, employees and board members who have offered support, guidance and collegiality.
I consider my time on the board an honor and privilege to serve our community. I believe anyone working in municipal government in any role is obligated to have the sole mission of doing what’s best for their community and work with others within that municipality to accomplish that. I was always fully committed to my oath to protect the public health.
From septic systems and well variances, the landfill, recycling, eliminating smoking from workplaces and restaurants, restaurant inspections to vape shops, communicable diseases and the pandemic, my time on the board has been an adventure, to say the least. Stan Strzempko and Carrie Fiordalice remain on the board. Both are dedicated to the community and will use their brilliant minds and critical thinking to guide the department with the public health mission.
I started writing this column during the pandemic to communicate important public health information regarding the COVID-19 virus. I have written 161 articles under my role as a member of the Board of Health. This is my last article as chair of the Westfield Board of Health. I will continue to write for the paper independently. My passion for helping and advocating for others, especially in the area of health, does not end with my role on the board. And so another chapter begins.
“I have the audacity to believe that people everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits.” — Martin Luther King Jr.
Take care of yourself and someone else
Juanita Carnes, FNP-BC, Westfield Health Department staff and Board of Health members Carrie Hildreth-Fiordalice, LICSW, and Stan Strzempko, M.D., are dedicated to protecting the public health of this community and keeping you safe.
