Trending
SALEM – The Salem Board of Health appointed an interim registrar of vital statistics in a special meeting March 28.
The board voted to appoint current Deputy Registrar of Vital Statistics and Outreach Coordinator Rachel Bowens to the interim position. This comes after a special meeting held March 1, where the board formally accepted the resignation of former Registrar of Vital Statistics Terri Hunter effective Monday.
At that time Mayor Cyndi Baronzzi Dickey, who also serves as president of the board of health by virtue of her positions explained at that time that Hunter's resignation had been contingent upon the requested reduction in hours, which the board felt was not sufficient to meet the department's needs.
"The resignation tendered was contingent upon a change in the hours to one day a week, and the board did not feel that was going to meet [the department's] needs," said Dickey.
At that meeting the board had also decided to retain the position's existing schedule of seven hours per day, three days per week when advertising for a new registrar. The position was posted both internally and externally.
Health Commissioner Kayla Crowl said that the appointment would last until a new candidate was hired to fill the position permanently, and that the department had already "received some applications and will begin holding interviews to find the right fit," soon.
Crowl also noted that while the department did not have any specific deadline set for filling the position, they were hopeful to do so soon.
"Sooner rather than later obviously, but we don't have a set fill by date," said Crowl.
The board of health will meet next at 2 p.m. April 17.