Samantha
Q: Could you describe your day to day routine as an Environmental Health Director?
Samantha:
I’m the Environmental Health Director. I have an Assistant Director and only one inspector under me right now, but typically there are about three or four, so our day-to-day it looks a little bit different every day, to be honest. We respond to foodborne illness complaints, we conduct routine inspections for restaurants, daycares, nursing homes, hospitals, and mobile trucks. We do larviciding in the Spring, so that involves going out to standing water and making sure that we’re killing the mosquito larvae to prevent any disease transmission. We do a whole lot of everything.
Q: What role does your job play in the field of public health and why is it important?
Samantha: Environmental Health is really the core of public health, in my opinion. We touch on just about everything. We get involved with public health nursing, housing, and public nuisance complaints. Our Division collaborates with other health and city departments the most. It’s not uncommon for us to be in the same meetings as fire prevention, police, the Department of Public Works, engineering, code enforcement, etc. I believe that we are sort of like a foundation for the health department. We’re the ones out in the field and in the community hearing about what the community needs and bringing it back to the Department. We’re in so many establishments every day that we really are a part of the community and bringing back what the needs are.
Q: Could you tell us what your early career in public health was like? What has stuck with you the most?
Samantha: I did three internships when I was in my undergraduate degree program. For my first, I did an internship with the health sciences department. I was a community health improvement plan intern and my job was to contact local agencies and see if they were able to take an intern. That was my first sort of taste in public health. Then I had an internship where I’m currently working, at the Springfield Department of Health and Human Services. I interned with the Deputy Public Health Commissioner here and that was my first taste in local government. My last internship was at AIDS Project Worcester which was a lot more preventative work. My first job after graduating was working as a behavior therapist for children with Autism. After this, I decided to apply as a health inspector.
Q: What is the greatest challenge you’ve faced in this field, if you overcame it how did you do it?
Samantha: I would say the greatest challenge is giving everybody the time that they deserve. Just like any other field, we get short staffed and it would be lovely to spend an entire day doing an inspection so you can answer every single question, have consultations with people, and go above and beyond to make sure they feel all their concerns are addressed. I think another challenge is wishing you had the resources and the things people needed, and saying: “Yeah sure, here’s this money, here’s funding.”
Q: What motivates you to keep going?
Samantha: I think I have a strong, strong desire to help my community. I’m from Western Massachusetts, and I have a really strong desire to give back. I think it’s my life’s purpose to serve my community and give back, even when it gets really challenging. I’ve never been someone who’s interested in for-profit work; I always knew I wanted to be serving the public and that’s what keeps me motivated.