The Marion Board of Health met on Tuesday night via Zoom to establish a course of action to find a replacement for Public Health Nurse Kathy Downey, who has submitted her resignation effective August 19. The board accepted Downey’s resignation at its last meeting.
Chairperson Ed Hoffer, Vice Chairperson Dot Brown, and Clerk John Howard agreed that the new public health nurse needs to be a benefitted position.
“At this point in time in the middle of an ongoing pandemic, it is a full-time position… I don’t think it is a good idea to cut it back right now,” said Hoffer.
Town Administrator Jay McGrail, who will advise applicants that public health nurse is a 30-to-40 hour position, said four applications have already come in. According to McGrail, any Town of Marion job scheduled for over 19 hours per week is eligible for benefits.
“It’s a good job,” he said.
The hiring process will be broken into two parts, a screening process and an interview of finalists.
Downey, Marion Health Director Dave Flaherty, and Assistant Town Administrator/Finance Director Judy Mooney will assist in the screening process, and McGrail and Hoffer will present finalists to the board, hopefully by the board’s August 4 meeting.
“It’s an awkward process to have first-round candidates get interviews because it’s on (ORCTV),” said McGrail, who wants to bring the board the best candidates. “Then they’re getting interviewed and it’s on TV.”
When discussing the job description, Howard suggested revisions that would eliminate the vaccines that Marion is providing children that no other comparably sized town provides.
“The fiscal issues for the town the next two, three years are going to be really tough,” said Howard. “In the future, the boards of health possibly are not going to be signing off on that for future liability. I would love to see the numbers on that… I would like to see the reports from the public health nurse to our meetings the vaccines and reports. Dave (Flaherty) is doing a superlative job on that.”
Noting her belief that that children’s vaccines have already been ordered, Brown thought it would be wise to continue the program.
Hoffer buttressed Brown’s position, saying, “Any savings we have are going to be pretty minor,” adding that a few children not immunized could become a lot more costly.
Brown addressed the changing role of the public health nurse regarding budgeting and money management. “It’s a different skillset than we’re looking for in a health nurse,” she said.
McGrail added, “We could wind up with the public health nurse who hasn’t worked in a municipality before.”
In discussing the board’s mission statement, Hoffer contemplated the potential that the Board of Health will someday need to hire consultants. “At the moment we have two physicians on the Board of Health, but there’s no guarantee we will forever,” he said.
According to Hoffer, the board’s mission statement is limited, so he expanded on it and requested it be put on the agenda for the board’s July 27 meeting.
The next meeting of the Marion Board of Health is scheduled for July 27. Because Governor Baker increased the public meeting capacity from 10 to 25 people, Marion boards and committees are henceforth allowed to meet at the Music Hall or via Zoom. Visit marionma.gov for updated information and meeting agendas.
Marion Board of Health
By Mick Colageo