10/03/16 — Westbrook named director of nursing for health department

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Westbrook named director of nursing for health department

By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on October 3, 2016 9:57 AM

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Wanda Westbrook, left, was recently named director of nursing at the Health Department. Also pictured is Star Baker, office assistant.

Wanda Westbrook has been named director of nursing for the Wayne County Health Department.

Mrs. Westbrook, who was previously clinical nursing supervisor, had the opportunity to work closely with her predecessor, Evelyn Coley, who recently retired.

"I learned a lot of things from Evelyn," she said. "She made it look easy, but I know it wasn't. As she moved me up, I was interested in (the job). When it became available, I applied.

"I just love the people here. I want to do good for them and do good by them, but I also want to do good for the people that come for the services at the Health Department."

The position oversees such program areas as family planning, maternity, child health, communicable disease -- which includes immunizations, TB and STDs -- and the health service team, responsible for inspecting day cares and keeping children's immunizations up to date.

"I'm still learning the ropes," Mrs. Westbrook said. "My biggest goal right now is to make sure I monitor that all the programs are meeting their agreement addendas."

The Health Department began using electronic records in February 2015, which required additional documentation and efforts to comply with state requirements, she said.

Since her former position has not been filled, she continues to juggle a few responsibilities in that area as well. She said she still enjoys that aspect of it, as her new job is more administrative.

"One of my jobs as clinical nursing supervisor, I was a nurse dispenser in the pharmacy, and I'm still actually doing that," she said. "But that'll eventually dwindle, too, when we get other nurses trained.

"That's probably going to be one of the hardest things for me because I love client contact. I like talking to them. I like listening to them. I like helping them. But I can still help from behind the scenes. But I do like that face-to-face contact with them. "

That could all change in her new role.

"Now probably the contact I'll have is when, you know, they're disgruntled or unhappy about something and they've come to complain," she said with a laugh. "But I took care of that before, too. I just always listened to them, let them talk it out, get their feelings out and then try to take it from there.

"Just because they come to the Health Department doesn't mean they don't have feelings and when somebody steps on those feelings, they have just as much right to be listened to as anybody."

Mrs. Westbrook is herself a product of Goldsboro, growing up in this community.

"I was born in this hospital," she said of the Health Department building that was once the county hospital.

She and husband James Westbrook have been married for 30 years. She has two daughters, a stepdaughter and two stepsons, and between them, they have 12 grandchildren.

Her career in nursing began while she was attending school for her LPN, licensed practical nursing, degree. She worked at Howell's care center in LaGrange.

When she earned her registered nurse certification, she was asked to stay on and worked there five years.

"I went from charge nurse to assistant director of nursing to director of nursing," she said. "Then I went to (Wayne Memorial) hospital for six months, working in dialysis."

When she saw an opening for the maternity program manager at the Health Department, she applied for it and was hired in August 2000.

She did that until February 2010, when she was promoted to the clinical nursing job.

Mrs. Westbrook was encouraged to apply for the director of nursing job by her peers, she said.

The pace of administrator will be a little different than what she was used to as a nurse, she says, but it is an environment she continues to enjoy.

"I love public health," she said. "We do a lot of good for the people of Wayne County."