First, a shift in the public health agenda has been occurring in recent decades from one focused on basic issues of sanitation and nutrition to one of emerging infections, old and new. The resurgence of tuberculosis is one exampel of an old yet serious communicable desease. Newer infections include HIV/AIDS and the West Nile Virus. MOst recently, the issue of bio-terrorism has taken center stage as a priority public health issue with numerous ramifications.
Therefore, I am proposing a nationwide search to recruit Putnam County's first full-time Commissioner of Health. This individual, who is required to be a medical physican, will be available to provide medical expertise on a full-time basis in order to better protect the health and safety of our residents.
Second, I am proposing that the former Butterfield Hospital be reopened. The new Commissioner of Health will have the additional responsibility of overseeing this new facility, which will provide a host of medical services to Putnam Residents. As you know, the western side of the county is an underserved area and I believe this gap in medical services for our western neithbors must be relieved as soon as possible.