View the entire newsletter for more articles: 2021 – NJAC County Biz – June
by June Sieber, Salem County HHS Director and Lauren Pomykala, Public Preparedness Division for Salem County
March 21st, 2020 will forever be a day that rings in the ears of leadership and staff within the Salem County Department of Health and Human Services in New Jersey; their first reported case of COVID-19. The year that followed was an unprecedented time in the lives of people around the world, with all eyes on local health departments to be the light that would guide residents through the darkness of COVID-19.
Throughout the COVID-19 response, essential resources have been scarce and are historically sent to larger, urban counties, which put the rural Salem County Department of Health and Human Services at a disadvantage. The leadership and staff did not let this disadvantage diminish their drive; instead, they worked harder, thought more creatively, and continuously pushed through the boundaries that were in front of them.
Salem County Department of Health and Human Services staff cross-trained to conduct case investigation and contact tracing, identified, and investigated clusters and outbreaks of COVID-19, worked alongside business owners and school administrators to provide necessary guidance so local businesses and schools could continue to operate safely, and continuously updated several social media accounts giving detailed COVID-19 case information to residents. Salem County’s Office on Aging and Disabilities continued to provide essential programs to the senior population, including transportation programs, a COVID-19 call center, and their Pantry Stretcher program to help ensure the senior residents of Salem County had continuous access to necessary programs and resources.
Knowing that the COVID-19 response in Salem County required a large and unified front, the Salem County Department of Health and Human Services entered partnerships with Salem Medical Center and Southern Jersey Family Medical Centers to ensure that residents had access to free COVID-19 testing. In the Spring of 2021 when the department was faced with the task of mass vaccination clinics, they partnered with Salem County school nurses, Salem Community College’s Nursing program, Salem County’s Medical Reserve Corps, Salem County’s Community Emergency Response Team, and the Salem County Correctional Facility to ensure that Salem County residents had access to the COVID-19 vaccine. The Salem County Department of Health and Human Services was also one of the first counties in the State of New Jersey to complete their “Home Bound Resident Vaccination Program.”
Despite all challenges they faced, the Salem County Department of Health and Human Services has come together like it never has before. When the pandemic reached Salem County, each division within this rural health department went above and beyond the call of duty and thought outside the box to ensure that the residents of Salem County had continued access to essential programs and constantly evaluated and filled-in the gaps in the response to COVID-19. The Salem County Department of Health and Human Services has changed the definition of “business as usual” to ensure that COVID-19 did not get in the way of promoting the health and safety of the residents of Salem County. There is no doubt that this rural health department is making an urban sized difference in the response to COVID-19.
Commissioner Director Ben Laury and Mickey Ostrum, Commissioner Liaison to the Health Department agree: “We continue to be amazed by our Health Department staff. To paraphrase Margaret Mead: Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful and committed employees can make a difference.”