LYNNFIELD ― With Kristin Esposito McRae retiring within the next couple of months, the Board of Health will be looking for a new health director.
At a Monday meeting, Board of Health members stated that they are looking for a temporary fill.
“The transition from the current director to an interim director is what we are looking at,” said Board of Health Chair Rocco Iocco.
According to Iocco, the current health director will be retiring in the first week of February, but she may be able to stay on longer, until possibly the end of the month.
“That works to our advantage in terms of buying us some time,” he said.
Still, McRae hopes to continue working as a technical director, with a focus on septic and Title V compliance “almost indefinitely,” according to the chair. With her experience and knowledge of Lynnfield, Iocco believes that she would help out a lot in this role.
Currently, the Board of Health has its eyes set on two candidates.
Gail Link McCausland was on the board when the town hired McRae, and believes that the uniqueness of this role could make the hiring process difficult. Specifically, she pointed out the focus on septic and regulatory issues compared to a singular focus on community health. McCausland expressed a worry about someone without the proper experience requiring help as they grow into the role.
With a number of communities looking for a health director due to retirements and burnout, according to Town Administrator Rob Dolan, Lynnfield will likely have to look to a younger group of candidates that might not have the experience the town is looking for ― but still will be qualified.
“There are certain requirements to be a health director,” he said. “If you are a nurse, or even a physician, it doesn’t qualify you. You have to have a certain qualification.”
There were concerns about one candidate for the position who has worked in a multitude of communities for a short period of time. Also, with the demand for health directors, McCausland wondered why that candidate hadn’t been hired by other towns. The other candidate, while having a wealth of experience, has been retired for a year.
McCausland wondered if they could hire both candidates, with the more experienced serving in a consultant role. Dolan said that is an option.
McCausland added that an evaluation of how the Board of Health operates is “way overdue.”
“When we hired Kristin, we were coming from a part-time person who didn’t even live in the state,” she said. “As you said, we don’t really do that much in prevention because we are constantly overwhelmed with regulatory (issues). We have been trying to keep our head above water with that, so I think this really is a good time to say, ‘Is this what we want to be and what are the ways that we need to grow?'”
