The Haines Public Health office is holding an open house starting 1 p.m. Tuesday for residents to meet public health nurse Brigid O’Connor and learn about the program’s offerings.
The public’s health is a broad concern, which makes the job of public health nurse a diverse one, O’Connor said in an interview this week.
Since starting as the town’s sole public health nurse Sept. 5, O’Connor has conducted “well-child screenings” for the local Head Start program and worked with the Haines Senior Center on transportation issues for senior citizens.
“Isolation is a public health issue for seniors, if they can’t get to the clinic or their doctor’s office,” O’Connor said.
O’Connor grew up in Washington, D.C. She earned her first college degree in philosophy and volunteered at a leper colony in India. She was drawn to nursing while working with abused and neglected children in the Washington, D.C. court system.
“I found out that nurses had a bigger impact on kids than lawyers did,” she said.
She went on to become a registered nurse and spent the past 28 years working in the county public health office in Charlo, Mont., a small town on the Flathead Indian Reservation. She came to Alaska looking for a change, she said.
For seven months she was in contact with Alaska Division of Public Health officials about openings in Alaska. “When I saw this job on the map, I liked where it was. The first thing that came up was the public library, and that pretty much sealed the deal for me. Everything has affirmed my decision since then.”
Unlike the clinic, which treats individuals, the public health nurse is charged with keeping the community healthy by monitoring health issues and addressing communal ailments like the flu.
Besides flu shots, the health office offers immunizations, family planning services, and screenings for sexually transmitted diseases, child development, and vision and hearing. “My first passion is educating people, so they can make informed health decisions. If people have questions concerning anything, they’re welcome to come and ask,” she said.
Much of O’Connor’s experience in Montana, where she worked on a team, involved infectious diseases. She once investigated a norovirus outbreak traced to a school cafeteria employee who had been sick but didn’t want to miss work.
“In a one-nurse station like (Haines), the nurse talks to the community and finds out what is needed and then sort of follows her passion. There are some confines to what I can do but a lot of it is finding the right skills to fix the problem,” O’Connor said.
O’Connor said her office has seen about 50 customers for flu shots this year. The office also offers the vaccine in a nasal mist. The immunization costs $27.44. The office offers a sliding scale for its services.
O’Connor spent 32 years in Montana, including working in a group home on the Northern Cheyenne reservation. She enjoys snowshoeing and gardening and has two grown sons.
The public health office is located upstairs in the Gateway Building, 259 Main Street. The open house will include treats and books for children. For more information, call 766-3300.