The Chatham County Board of Health voted unanimously at its meeting last Monday to appoint Mike Zelek as the county’s permanent public health director. Zelek has served as the interim director since June 1.
His selection as health director followed a multi-state and multi-county search, according to a Nov. 24 release from the health department. Zelek has worked for the department for eight years, the release said, first as a social research associate and later as its health promotion and policy division director. He began serving as interim health director following the retirement of the county’s previous health director, Layton Long.
“We’ve done a long search, and we had the perfect candidate right underneath our roof,” Board of Health chairperson Carol Reitz-Barlow said at Monday’s meeting.
“Michael, there’s nothing like a pandemic to make sure that you’re really the right guy for the job,” board member Lewis Lampiris added.
As interim director, Zelek has overseen the health department’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as working to advance health equity initiatives within the county.
“I want to thank you all for your tremendous support,” Zelek told the board. “It was truly an honor to be the interim director. It’s another honor to be selected into the permanent role. I just have to say that it’s really because of the staff that I’m in the position that I am and that I have the confidence to move forward, so I want to thank all of the staff who have been so supportive.”
Before unanimously appointing Zelek as the permanent health director, the board also discussed its orientation and diversity policies, reviewed results from the Organizational Equity Assessment the health department participated in and heard updates on the county’s recent cyber incident.
Board member John Kessler asked if language concerning diversity training was included in the department’s current orientation policy, and if not, if the board would consider updating that language. Zelek clarified that such language was currently housed in the department’s workforce development policy.
Zelek also gave the board an update on the cyber incident that took place Oct. 28 and knocked out Chatham County government’s computer network, telephones and email. Health department staff are still waiting to get their computers and emails back, he said, but he’s hopeful there will be progress in those fronts in the coming weeks.
“This is a pretty major disruption and something that takes time,” he said.
Regarding rising COVID-19 trends across the state, Zelek expressed concern over the approaching holidays and winter months, emphasizing that the health department’s messaging around safety would be crucial in the months ahead.
The board also heard a presentation about the health department’s results from the Organizational Equity Assessment by Casey Hilliard, the department’s interim director of health promotion and policy division. The assessment was distributed by Equity for Moms and Babies Realized Across Chatham (EMBRACe), a two-year grant-funded project aimed at achieving equitable birth outcomes in the county.
Hilliard shared key results from the assessment, stating that community engagement efforts, service delivery and culture of the department were each identified as strengths by participants. Opportunities for growth reflected in the results were hiring and promotion practices and organizational climate — the feeling that the workplace is safe and confidential space to share concerns related to race and discrimination.
“It just goes to show that maybe there is this opportunity to listen, learn and try to work together to figure out how we address these things,” Hilliard said. “What do we need to see in our organization to make these spaces feel safe and make people feel confident that we’re acting consistently around these issues?”
The board also discussed its diversity policy, with members suggesting several minor changes to definitions and specific language in its “goals” subheading. Michelle Wright, the equity and community engagement lead in Chatham, gave a brief presentation and emphasized the department’s desire to continue engaging the health board in its diversity processes.
“We know we have to do more in terms of how we are changing structures and how we are changing the language we are using,” Wright said.
The board will not meet in December, meaning its next meeting will be in January.
Reporter Hannah McClellan can be reached at hannah@chathamnr.com.