JOSEPH A. ROUSE
WESTFIELD – The Board of Health selected Joseph Rouse, who has been an inspector with the department for 16 years, to serve as director of the Health Department Friday after conducting a candidate search and interview.
Board Chairwoman Juanita Carnes said the city received three applications for the department head position, but a screening process eliminated two of the other applicants.
“Karen Decker (Human Resource assistant director) and I reviewed the applications for qualifications,” Carnes said prior to the board’s meeting. “We rejected the other two candidates who applied because they had no public health background. Neither had adequate qualifications to go ahead with interviews.”
The three board members asked Rouse a series of questions. Dr. Stan Strzempko initiated the interview process by asking Rouse to identify significant achievements or qualities he has developed during his tenure with the department.
Rouse said that he has developed a rapport with people in the community, other departments and licensees.
“It makes the job so much easier when you have that mutual respect,” Rouse said. “I’m also proud of how we mobilized the emergency shelters after storms and the Washington House fire, working in concert with the MRC (Medical Reserve Corps) and the Red Cross to house and feed a large number of people.”
Rouse said that an example of how the Health Department can address public health issues is the radon test kit grant which enabled the department to provide residents with the ability to test their homes for the poisonous gas.
“We found that there were a few houses with a radon problem that we could mitigate,” Rouse said “Providing public health services to the community is what we can and should do.”
Board member Michael Pauquette asked Rouse where “do you see the department going?”
Rouse said the department needed to focus on community outreach.
“We need to get more involved in the community, get people to understand what kind of (public health) resource we are,” Rouse said.
“Internally, we need to look at how the department head deals with staff, move away from the segmented approach, seek more empowerment of the staff,” Rouse said. “I want to see the staff come back around to having passion again.”
“I’ve gotten a really good response from the staff (as interim director), they’re supportive. The staff appreciates someone who let’s then do their job.”
Rouse said the department needs “to get out of operating the transfer station” and put more energy into public health issues. Rouse said that at a recent public health conference attended by 300 health professionals there were no seminars of transfer station operations.
“There is no solid waste management in the public health structure,” Rouse said. “The transfer station is a sexy project, but totally outside the realm of what we should be doing.”
Rouse said the two hot button issues of public health, as identified by the Center for Disease Control, are environmental health and refugee communicable disease.
“I need to find out more about what we have to do to address those issues proactively,” Rouse said.
Carnes said that Rouse’s appointment “positions this department in promoting public health in Westfield.”
Strzempko said that Rouse “has a long history with the department, is embedded in the community and has a vision for the future of the department.”
However, Strzempko also urged Rouse to continue his formal education and secure a degree in environmental health, a program offered through Westfield State University.
