Public Health from A to Z
- Jodi Brunner
- Jul 6
- 5 min read
By Rachel Dutil • Photo by Jessica McCafferty
Most Clinton County residents would likely be surprised by all that happens “quietly, diligently and without fanfare so people can just go about their daily lives with less worry and risk,” said Mandy Snay, Director of Health Planning and Promotion at the Clinton County Health Department.
“In public health,” she explained, “the community is the patient, and the department team works to identify the challenges and risks to health and how they can effectively be mitigated.
Our never-ending mission is to protect and improve the health, well-being and environment of the people of Clinton County.”
Both Snay and Director of Public Health, Jeffrey Sisson, bring unique experiences to the Health Department team. Sisson has held his role for three years after spending 18 years overseeing health and safety programs for the 17 Champlain Valley Educational Services’ school districts. “When I worked at CVES, I focused on creating healthy, safe and supportive school environments for our local districts. In my current role, I get to do something very similar, but on a larger scale – serving Clinton County,” Sisson said. “It’s exciting to be in a position where I can really make a difference. Working together with our employees and local partners to help prevent illness and improve health outcomes for residents is incredibly meaningful and rewarding.”
Snay has been with the health department for 19 years. She is a registered dietitian who worked in clinical care before moving into public health. “Everything that public health does works to eliminate the frustrations I was experiencing in other settings,” she offered. “When I was working in a hospital setting, I would see people with congestive heart failure or uncontrolled diabetes, and it was my job to talk to them about their diets and what they needed to change. Some patients couldn’t read food labels or couldn’t afford fruits and vegetables. I just had to do the diet instruction and then move on. But here, in public health, we are advocating for the programs and services that are making fruits and vegetables more accessible to people. We’re creating systems that allow people to be healthier,” she said.
Foundations
Several foundational services are the backbone of the work Clinton County Health Department does — things like water testing, food service inspections, rabies control and prevention programs. “We know we need to do these things to keep people healthy,” Snay said. “We respond to people’s needs, but very often these are the kinds of things people don’t even realize they need. Everyone needs clean drinking water and we monitor water systems and making sure they are safe. We also oversee communicable disease controls in the county. We all got a lesson in what that looks like when we lived through COVID, but those kinds of investigations and monitoring are happening all the time,” she emphasized.
Sisson said most people are surprised by the wide range of programs and services offered by the health department. “These include everything from free rabies clinics and emergency preparedness activities, to preschool and early intervention services, the Healthy Neighborhoods Program, WIC (Women, Infants, Children), medical provider audits, private well testing, and certified lactation counseling — public health from A to Z. The department also works with school districts and municipalities on things like health and wellness policies and playground and public park accessibility.
“Individual clinical care is so important. Our community needs to be set up to support healthy behaviors,” Snay offered. “Re-engineering our environment to make living healthy easier is essential for success. Working on the local level means you are that much more connected to the community and that much closer to the positive changes that result,” she added.
One of the things that helps position the Health Department well is its public health accreditation. “We were one of the first health departments in New York State to become accredited when that was an option,” Snay explained. “That is significant because it sets us up to be as nimble as possible. It assures that we stay on the cutting edge of where public health is going, and that our staff has the skills they need to adjust, adapt and change pathways while we’re still providing foundational services.”
The health department was first accredited in 2015, then re-accredited in 2021 and is currently working on its second re-accreditation. “It is truly impressive for a small, rural health department to have and to maintain that distinction,” Snay said. “It speaks volumes of our commitment to practicing evidence-based public health and to protecting the health and well-being of the residents of the county.”
Community Engagement
Every three to five years the Health Department does a community health assessment in partnership with Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital (CVPH) and other community agencies to gather data on the health needs in the county. The assessment takes about 14 months to complete, and the data collected is used to create a plan to address health priorities.
A community health assessment process is currently underway in the county and the Health Department will be continuing to solicit feedback from residents through the summer as it works to put together the next community health improvement plan. Once the plan is written, it will be put out for public comment. “That will be an opportunity for people to take a look at it and provide us with feedback before we finalize the plan, submit it to the state and then get to work on everything that is featured in it,” Snay said.
Engaging with county residents is an important part of the Health Department’s agenda. Staff training emphasizes how best to present health information, elevate the quality and value of public interactions and build relationships within the community. “Public engagement helps us to identify the issues and barriers that are out there,” Sisson said. “If we don’t have that communication, we’re not doing the best job we can,” he noted.
“County residents may not appear that diverse, but we are,” Sisson said. “People are different. Their situations are different and there is not a one-size-fits-all answer for everyone. To do our job well, our approach has to be as varied as possible.”
Although there is uncertainty, and the world around us is constantly changing, Snay said it is grounding that the Health Department’s public health mission stays the same. “We may see changes, but we know exactly what we are supposed to do. We protect the health of the people who live in Clinton County and we have good staff that is ready to do that.”
Clinton County Health Department
133 Margaret St.
Plattsburgh, NY
518 565-4840
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