By Lorrie Ross
Staff Writer
Local health departments like the Clay County Health Department may have received more attention in the past year and a half, than ever before. That means overseeing a health department is possibly more stressful than it has ever been.
Yet Clarissa Rogers, who began working at the Clay County Health Department just over six years ago, has served as interim Health Director for the for past six months. Perhaps her passion for taking care of people is what drives her in the task.
She knew from an early age she wanted to work in a medical field. “Initially I thought about dental hygiene, but after a brief stint in a dental clinic I realized looking into mouths all day was not my forte. I think I like to talk too much and it’s hard to communicate with someone when their mouth is full of instruments,” she laughed. “I was blessed to have been in the high school HOSA program. Dorcas Brooks was the instructor. She encouraged me to follow a career in nursing and I am so thankful I listened to her. It was a blessing to have been a part of her classroom.”
Rogers worked as a CNA, or certified nursing assistant, at a local memory care facility while attending nursing school. After graduating, she spent two years working at Murphy Medical Center, now known as Erlanger of Western Carolina. She began in the hospital’s nursing home and eventually moved onto the Medical Surgical floor.
“Finally, I began my career as a public health nurse with CCHD a little over six years ago,” she said. “Currently, day-to-day functions are dominated by this pandemic. There are multiple calls, meetings, updates and state guidelines to keep up with daily. I work closely with my staff, never asking them to do something I wouldn’t. There are days spent behind a computer updating policies and procedures, clinical management, attending virtual meetings and more while other days are spent working alongside the nurses contact tracing, testing, vaccinating, educating and more.”
Rogers supervises 24 employees at the Clay County Health Department. “There are a lot of day-to-day responsibilities that we put in. There are several state mandated reporting-performance requirements for each program supported by the health department. There are Agreement Addendums that the state sends down yearly with mandatory deliverables that we have to meet to ensure continued funding,” she said. “Right now, COVID is what I like least. It has been a devastating time and honestly one of the most humbling experiences I have been a part of.”
Rogers was born and raised locally and graduated from Hayesville High School in 2009. “I know most of the people in the county. if not, I am sure they know my family, which is one of the main reasons I take my job so personally,” she said. “I love working for our community and making sure we provide necessary services to improve the lives of county residents. I enjoy working closely with Clay residents and being a needed resource for them.”
The staff at the Clay County Health Department has been able to help implement some changes in the community and Rogers hopes to help with more changes. “With consolidation, I want to continue to foster a close relationship between county entities,” she explained. “This has helped benefit our community by establishing an opportunity to provide better service options to our residents. I am also looking forward to growing our Community Paramedic program. It is a wonderful way to bring public health back to the public by putting boots on the ground. So far, the program has been beneficial during this pandemic. I am thankful to be a part of the opportunity to create this great outreach of services.”
If she was not working in healthcare as she always dreamed, what would she be doing? “Without a doubt, I would be a stay-at-home mom,” she said. “I have been married to my high school sweetheart, Robert Rogers, for 11 years and we have three wonderful little girls. There is never a dull moment in our home, but we wouldn't have it any other way. To say this pandemic has been overwhelming would be a total understatement. I love taking time to just focus on my family, they ground me and always remind me of what's important.”
Rogers concluded, “I am thankful to be a part of such a wonderful team. We all work so well together, from our environmental health team to our dental crew and clinical and clerical staff. There may be times that we go through trenches, but there is not another crew I want to be going through them with. This community is blessed to have such wonderful people serving them.”