Collaborative Decision Making

As I have seen in my healthcare career, collaboration is a key to successful outcomes for patients. Similarly, when it comes to ensuring the health of Marblehead’s citizens, I believe a collaborative approach inside and outside the Board of Health will lead to the most effective results.

I find that collaboration is at its best with careful listening among all involved and mutual respect for everyone’s input.

I appreciate the current BOH’s fostering of collaboration. An example of this is the April 14 BOH meeting asking “How can Public Safety, Public Education, and Public Health Work Together to Improve the Mental Health of Young People in Marblehead? This well-attended meeting brought together members of the Board, Police Chief Dennis King, School Superintendent John Robidoux, Essex County District Attorney Paul Tucker, and citizens.

Beyond Marblehead, I see opportunities to collaborate with surrounding communities, our state legislative representatives, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, and the Massachusetts Association of Health Boards (MAHB).

If elected, I will work to build on these kinds of collaboration for all the issues in which I am involved.

Strengthening Community Mental Health

I applaud the work of the current BOH in launching its Create A Healthier Marblehead (CAHM) initiative, which recently ran a wellness survey for our community. Not surprisingly, the results showed mental health as a top concern across all age groups.

Professionally, as an anesthesiologist, I meet patients and their families at some of the most stressful times of their lives as they undergo medical procedures that can produce high levels of pain and anxiety.

My role, in addition to managing their physical well-being, is to gain trust and address anxiety through clear, compassionate communication before and after procedures.

Personally, like many of us, I’ve seen the difficulties faced by family members and friends with mental health challenges. This includes depression, anxiety, dementia, bipolar disorders, loss of loved ones, substance abuse, and more.

So with these experiences I am especially passionate about this issue and will fully support the Board’s efforts to facilitate the mental health wellness of our community in the years to come.

Vigilance for Emerging Health Threats While Keeping Marbleheaders Informed

An important priority for me is to reinforce the Health Department’s vigilance and communications for health threats as they arise.

Each year and season health threats return and new ones emerge. Various strains of flu and COVID come and go each winter while summer brings a variety of insect bite risks.

For instance, a new tick bite threat that may be working its way towards Marblehead is Alpha-gal syndrome (AGS), which can lead to a serious allergic reaction to red meat. The state has been monitoring AGS to track its spread.

An emerging concern is kratom, an herbal substance that can produce opioid- and stimulant-like effects. Products with kratom are available online and in convenience stores, gas stations, and smoke shops. Its use can lead to overdoses, hospitalizations, addictions, and even death, particularly in its synthetic forms.

To date, about 20 Massachusetts towns, including Boston and Yarmouth, are considering or have begun regulating its availability.

I believe Marblehead should also regulate substances like kratom, and I will be a leader in bringing this before the board for review and action.

As a board member, I will work to: a) understand current processes for maintaining vigilance and communication for threats to health, and b) collaborate with our Health Department and other stakeholders to make any needed improvements.

Reducing Opioid Harm

We are fortunate that Marblehead’s incidence of opioid overdose is lower than the state average, but it is not zero.

I would like to strengthen communication of the information within the Health Department’s Opioid Harm Reduction Resource Guide.

In particular I want to ensure availability of Naloxone (also known as Narcan) — the medicine that can revive someone from an opioid overdose — and knowledge of where to get it and how to use it.

I’d also like to ensure awareness of a recently enacted Good Samaritan Law by the state that encourages friends, family, or bystanders to assist people having an overdose and to seek emergency medical assistance. The law has significant potential to help reduce the impact of the opioid epidemic and save lives, while protecting victims and those who call 9-1-1 for help from prosecution and conviction.

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