Director of Community Outreach Megan Bailey, third from the left, shares social media engagement data from the health district’s Facebook page, including the recent lung cancer screening, at Wednesday’s board of health meeting. New Director of Nursing Lee Watts is also pictured at the far left. (EXAMINER PHOTO | Mandy Loehr)
Several new staff members were hired by the Logan County District Board of Health at their Wednesday afternoon meeting, Feb. 14, including a new director of nursing.
Nurse practitioner Lee Watts has stepped into the new leadership role, effective Feb. 5. A Champaign County native and current Urbana resident, she began her time at the Logan County Health District in November, when she was hired as a public health nurse.
More recently, she received the promotion to director of nursing to replace Debra Gilmore, a former travel nurse who began a short role in that position Jan. 16. The board approved at Wednesday’s meeting a personnel separation with Gilmore, effective Jan. 26.
Watts said her background includes working at various hospitals in several different states, with a focus on women’s health, along with her recent stint as a substitute school nurse for Urbana City Schools.
“Since Lee is a nurse practitioner as well, that opens up a lot of other collaborative opportunities for the health department,” Health Commissioner Travis Irvan said. “She’ll be working alongside our medical director Dr. (Nicholas) Morton.”
In addition to Watts, other new hires include: environmental clerical specialist Faith Hoffer, effective Feb. 12; emergency preparedness coordinator Heather Kean, effective Feb. 20; and intermittent part-time outreach specialist Gavin Ruzicka, effective Jan. 16.
Also at the meeting, Director of Community Outreach Megan Bailey shared social media engagement data from the health district’s Facebook page, including more than 1,500 reaches for the LCHD’s Super Bowl related posts Sunday and Monday, including posts encouraging designating a sober driver after the game.
Bailey also reported that about a dozen individuals attended the district’s recent lung cancer screening, but even more have expressed interest in attending a similar event in the future. Watts would like to host a lung cancer screening paired with an upcoming immunization clinic.
During the health commissioner’s report, Irvan related that he and Bailey recently attended the Harwood Institute’s two-day lab Feb. 8 and 9 with other community leaders at the Hilliker Y.
With financial support from Honda, the Harwood Institute is partnering with the United Way of Logan County to help the county move forward with three primary goals: to take action on key issues that matter to people; strengthen Logan County’s civic culture so the community can accelerate and deepen its good work; and ensure Honda’s investments create sustainable impact aligned with the shared aspirations and needs of the community.
In November, The Harwood Institute, in partnership with Honda, released the report, “Forging a Bright Future: How Logan County Keeps Building.” The study is available at the United Way’s website, www.uwlogan.org.
As a result of the study and the lab conducted last week, three community groups have formed and will meet regularly to assess local needs, relating to the areas of youths, seniors and health/mental health. Bailey and Irvan are part of the health/mental health group.
“The goal is outward-thinking, and to start by tackling ‘low-hanging fruit’ and then gain the trust of the community,” Irvan said. “It will be interesting to see the different projects that each of the groups come up with in the upcoming months.”
Also in administrative matters, Administrator Christina Bramlage reported the 2023 financial statements for the health district are completed and will be posted on the agency’s website, loganhealthohio.gov, and will be available for public review at the 310 S. Main St. office.
In other action, the board:
• approved a resolution in support of the Simon Kenton Trail upkeep for the Urbana-Bellefontaine connector, with Irvan noting the health benefits of the recreational activity;
• approved a yearly evaluation for environmental health employee Arie Pequignot;
• approved Pequignot and Amanda Harshfield for advancement/pay grade change from environmental health specialist-in-training to the position of registered environmental health specialist, after passing their required credentials; and
• approved a well variance request from Kenneth Flohre Jr., 7747 Park Dr., Russells Point.
The next board meeting is 1 p.m. Wednesday, March 13.
The health commissioner also noted that board member Tobi Collins will be concluding her 10 years of service to the board in March. The Logan County Health District Advisory Council conducts their annual meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 21, at the Ohio Hi-Point Career Center, and will be tasked with naming her replacement. Interested applicants should e-mail Irvan at [email protected].