PORT TOWNSEND — The Jefferson County Department of Health has created a new position of community health director.
“We have a director of environmental health. I am a counterpart to that,” said Dunia Faulx, who began work in the position in late December.
“I want to understand the community’s priorities and then implement the vision of what public health should be.”
Faulx, 29, supervises a staff of 15 to 18 people, including Julia Danskin, public health nurse manager.
“She’s very refreshing and is bringing a lot of very good energy and insight,” Danskin said of Faulx.
“She is skilled at looking at overall systems and making the systems work together.”
Prior to earning her Master of Public Health from the University of Washington in 2010, Faulx was an AmeriCorps volunteer at the Jefferson County Department of Health, where she worked in school-based health clinics at Port Townsend and Chimacum high schools.
“I always knew I wanted to come back,” Faulx said.
“I applied for this job as soon as I heard that it was opening up.”
Faulx joined the department after serving as a program director for PATH, a global health nonprofit based in Seattle, where she managed partnerships with the purpose of diagnosing infectious diseases.
Faulx, who earns almost $70,000 a year, said she took a $15,000 pay cut from her last job so she could work in Jefferson County.
Focus of job
Faulx is still learning about the county’s health needs but expects to focus on disease prevention, vaccinations, mental health and substance abuse.
In the area of substance abuse, she will look at the increasing incidence of heroin addiction and methamphetamine use, as well as marijuana, alcohol and tobacco, she said.
She said electronic cigarettes pose a new hazard because they come “in flavors such as Fruit Loops that could appeal to younger people.”
She said the legalization of marijuana has led to “an uncharted territory.”
Available funds
Faulx acknowledges that the breadth and depth of public health services depends on available funds.
“There is a huge funding swing with the government and public health,” she said.
“Many people don’t notice public health services until they aren’t there.”
The key to providing services for less cost is to develop partnerships with other agencies, she said.
Faulx’s familiarity with the department is an asset, Danskin said.
“Dunia is a wonderful addition to the community and to Jefferson County Public Health,” said Jean Baldwin, health department director, in a news release.
“We are thrilled to have her return.”
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
