WESTFIELD—The Board of Health officially reappointed Joe Rouse as director of public health in Westfield.
During the Oct. 12 meeting the board voted unanimously to keep Rouse as director of public health, giving him another three-year term in the position. He has been in the position since 2013, and has been with the Department of Public Health in some capacity since 1998.
“I am strongly supportive of that position, Joe has done a great with the health and human services issues the city has,” Mayor Brian Sullivan said of the reappointment. ” He is very knowledgeable and very reliable.”
Rouse will continue to oversee the public health and safety of Westfield and its residents, which is a broad and varied role.
“We’re into all kinds of things,” Rouse said. “I’m supervising the health department, which is responsible for the nursing division, inspectional services division and responsible for operating the transfer station.”
Rouse added that he will also continue to manage flu shot accessibility for residents and city employees, as well as monitor communicable diseases and the health of immigrants and refugees to the city.
Rouse’s background includes nearly a decade with the city, as well as a bachelor’s degree in environmental science from University of Massachusetts. Prior to UMass, Rouse attended Flagler College in St. Augustine, Florida, then relocated back to western Massachusetts and attended Holyoke Community College before transferring.
Rouse began his career with the Westfield Health Department in 1998, after interning with the department while attending UMass and receiving a job as a code enforcement agent for the city. Then, in 2013 he accepted the position of director of public health for Westfield.
Rouse said that one of his largest goals moving forward is to educate the public about the department more.
“What we’ve been trying to do lately is to get our message out so people know what we actually do,” he said. “People might say we’re the restaurant inspection people, some people might say we’re the flu shot people, some people may say we’re the sanitation people.”
Rouse said that the Department of Public Health really does it all.
