Pittsfield Committee Supports Changing Public Health Nurse PositionBy Joe Durwin, Pittsfield Correspondent
02:51PM / Thursday, November 20, 2014 | |
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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A move to revamp the position of public health nurse was received favorably by the City Council's Committee on Ordinance and Rules, which voted unanimously on Monday to recommend the council approve the proposed changes and salary for the new post.
Director of Public Health Gina Armstrong said the position, which plays a key role in monitoring and combating infectious diseases locally, has gone unfilled.
"In our attempts to fill the position we've had real challenges finding qualified nurses," said Armstrong, who indicated that while the job includes managerial as well as nursing duties, the compensation offered has been less than what many starting nurses are paid in the area.
Currently the position is classed at a pay rate of $23.06 to $23.52 per hour; in the revised position of "Public Health Nurse Manager" that amount would increase to anywhere from $28.03 to $32.30, which would bring the annual salary for this part-time position above $51,000 a year.
"The current rate is really not competitive to find the candidate we need," Armstrong told the committee.
"From a responsibility perspective, I certainly think it would be difficult to recruit at that salary," agreed Councilor Jonathan Lothrop.
Under the proposed revision to the personnel ordinance, the public health nurse manager has a voluminous job description that includes a variety of nursing and administrative functions. This individual would be responsible for all public nursing functions, monitoring and treating communicable disease threats, conducting data surveillance, and developing an annual action plan for public health outreach to the community.
In addition to existing functions such as overseeing immunization for city employees, the public health nurse manager would also help the director in a variety of tasks, such as inspecting camp health records, food-borne illness reports, and "oversee education and supervision to contracted per diem and volunteer nurses."
"It's the kind of thing you don't think you need, until all of a sudden you really need it," added Lothrop, who along with the rest of the committee voted unanimously to recommend the council accept the changes.
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