HEATH — As the town prepares for the upcoming retirement of town nurse Claire Rabbitt, Heath officials are pondering the future of the position and whether it’s a service that could potentially be regionalized.
“Realizing that Claire is going to retire and recognizing the importance of that position for our town, and just sharing our thoughts about, do we all feel the same that this is a position we want to have filled again,” Selectboard member Elissa Viarengo pondered to her fellow board members at the Dec. 16 meeting.
Viarengo said she requested the topic be discussed in response to an inquiry from the Franklin Regional Council of Governments, which emailed the town to ask what services the town nurse provides and to ensure there’s no unnecessary overlap with FRCOG’s Cooperative Public Health Service.
“They’re pretty different; there’s a little bit of overlap, but they’re really two different positions,” Viarengo said.
The town nurse hosts annual vaccine clinics, leads a weekly Bones & Balance class, holds office hours and offers appointments for nursing services. Meanwhile, FRCOG’s Cooperative Public Health Service works with the Board of Health to ensure the town has access to safe water, housing, air and food, and to prevent infectious and chronic diseases. The Cooperative Public Health Service also issues permits, conducts inspections and enforces health code regulations. FRCOG has a public health nursing program, too.
Selectboard members discussed whether the position is worth budgeting for after Rabbitt retires next year.
“While I’m not questioning the importance, I think we will find a number of people that will be,” Selectboard Chair Robyn Provost-Carlson said.
“I used to think that Heath having its own town nurse was an unnecessary extravagance, however, since we all moved over here (to the Jacobs Road Municipal Center), I have been able to more directly witness what goes on with the town nurse and glean little bits of information here and there. I have totally reversed my position,” Town Coordinator Hilma Sumner said. “I think it’s an important and very necessary service that we provide, particularly to our elderly residents.”
Sumner said there are not a lot of health care options in western Franklin County, and no health care options at all in the town of Heath outside of the town nurse. Residents largely have to drive to Greenfield for doctor’s appointments, but for some residents, that is not possible, and the town nurse is their only option for health care.
Selectboard member Will Emmet suggested the town look at sharing a nurse with other neighboring towns. If they split the cost of salary and benefits between three towns, he said, maybe the town nurse position could become a full-time role.
Currently, the Heath town nurse position is part-time, paying $12,277, with a $1,000 budget line for expenses. She works 10 hours per week.
“I think reimagining the position is a really important way to proceed with this,” Provost-Carlson said. “No disrespect to anyone, I fully respect anyone who’s been involved with the nursing program in Heath since day one, but I do think that as a small town, we just have so many more needs.”
The Selectboard is expected to revisit the topic at a future meeting, with input from the Board of Health.