Shaleeta was documented as part of the Essential series, highlighting her job as Summit County Manager, Maternal Child Health for the Summit County Health Department (SCPH). During her first interview, she spoke about the community's immediate need. “This has been a revolving door. I work every testing site we have. It was all hands on deck immediately,” Shaleeta said in 2020. “People are trying to live life through this pandemic, and for many, that is increasingly difficult. Some families didn’t have the means before COVID, and now they could be trying to navigate behavioral health challenges, homeschooling, unemployment, domestic violence, and everyday life stresses.”
Shaleeta moved into a new role at the SCPH as Director of Family Health. She reflected upon the evolution and solutions that she witnessed of the health department and the community they serve. “Summit County Public Health is trying to be an olive branch for the community,” she said. “The pandemic brought to the forefront that no one’s needs are the same. Everybody has their own unique circumstances. You have to show up for people differently.
Our emergency preparedness team made sure we worked with people representing different cultures so that each culture felt respected and safe. It wasn't generalized; It was targeted messaging. We made sure that the messaging was being relayed by way of a trusted source. That was important because there was so much myth going on with Covid. We needed to make sure that the information came from a trusted person in the community and we were always available as a liaison. It made us be more prepared and reliable overall.”
The housing crisis during the pandemic had a ripple effect on the health crisis. “People need stable housing, access to food, transportation, means to pay their utilities. If you can’t take care of your physical health or your environmental health, how can you take care of your mental health? Many people didn’t even know about us before the pandemic. My advice for people is to get to know us. We have so many resources and programs available and we serve the community in various ways.”
Shaleeta shared insight about some positive changes that came to be as a result of adapting to the pandemic. Prior to the pandemic, many services and resources were only available at the SCPH building. Now, Teledoc appointments, virtual meetings, drive-thru testing and vaccinations are common.
“We try to diminish what fear may exist, because we don’t know what’s going to happen with the current state of our country. Public health and service workers are trying to provide as many resources as we can and as much comfort as we can. I think the pandemic showed that our community is resilient. We came together to do what we needed to do. Because of that, I don’t worry about what’s happening right now. I personally think we are doing better at showing up with intent for the community. I have hope because I think we still have that momentum. At the end of the day, we’ve evolved."
June, 2020
Summit County Public Health