HEATH — After months of back-and-forth discussion with potential candidates and the Board of Health, the Selectboard voted at its most recent meeting to appoint Rachel Lewis to the position of temporary town nurse for the rest of fiscal year 2027.
Lewis currently serves as the town nurse in Rowe, a position she has held for just over four years. Her position in Heath would be for five hours per week at a rate of $45.50. The current Heath town nurse, Claire Rabbitt, had wanted to retire at the end of fiscal year 2026, but agreed to stay on until the Selectboard found her replacement.
“I really enjoy working with the community members and I have a strong connection with the rural community [in Rowe], so I thought it was a good way to expand services in the area and to see if I could help out another town as well,” Lewis said.
According to Heath Town Coordinator Mia Francesconi, Lewis will start on Tuesday, Oct. 20. Part of her onboarding process will entail a tour of the Jacobs Road Municipal Building.
Part of what the Selectboard hopes to gain from this temporary appointment is insight from Lewis, as Heath begins to reevaluate the permanent town nurse job description and pay grade in an effort to best align with the town’s needs.
“I’d like to help them sort of get their nursing program off and running in a way that’s really proactive for the community,” Lewis said. “I know Claire, who was the nurse previously, she did a great job. … [I’m] just trying to see what the needs of the community are and find the best way possible to help people make the connection between the town nurse and possibly other health care services or social services.”
Although the town had previously paid Rabbitt $30.40 per hour to work 10 hours per week, and budgeted for someone to be paid $31.25 per hour to work eight hours weekly heading into fiscal year 2027, the Selectboard struggled to hire someone within this salary range, and members expressed discomfort with having a position jump several pay grades. With Lewis’ hiring at a $45.50 rate per hour, the number of hours per week needed to be reduced.
The Selectboard hopes to have the job description and salary proposal for a permanent town nurse ready to present to voters at the 2027 Annual Town Meeting.
“I want people to know that living in a rural community makes it really difficult for especially elderly people to receive health care because of their distance that they have to drive to get to their doctor or other appointments,” Lewis noted. “Having some sort of nursing or health care personnel working in the town has been really, really beneficial.”
