Pictured is the current Chautauqua County Health Department staff

MAYVILLE – Chautauqua County has announced the 60th anniversary of the formation of the Chautauqua County Department of Health.

“We are excited to celebrate this milestone and applaud our predecessors for paving the way to improve health outcomes in Chautauqua County,” states Chautauqua County’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Michael Faulk. “I am proud to serve alongside some of the most professional, passionate, and dedicated public health staff, who truly are doing amazing work in our county. We are also fortunate to have many community partners including local hospitals, health centers, doctor’s offices, and agencies with similar goals of improving the public’s health, all working together to protect and promote the health of all people in our community.”

County Executive PJ Wendel emphasized the significant strides made in public health, saying, “I am honored to live in a community with so many agencies working together to improve the health of its residents. Chautauqua County is stronger than ever and I am equally excited for this opportunity to highlight some of those accomplishments by diving into the local history of public health. Today we celebrate the Chautauqua County Health Department and applaud our partners for their unwavering commitment to work together to improve the health of our county.”

The county began official steps to formalize the new department in August of 1964 upon the recommendation of a special study committee formed in 1960, the County Board of Supervisors voted to establish a County Health District. With the subsequent approval of the cities of Jamestown and Dunkirk, the Board of Supervisors named a nine member Board of Health to supervise the operations of the newly created Department of Health.

On Nov. 12, 1964, the Board of Health appointed Dr. Lyle D. Franzen to serve as the county’s first Health Commissioner to lead the newly formed Department of Health.

The department officially began operations on January 1, 1965 with central offices in Mayville and branches in Dunkirk and Jamestown. Public Health personnel previously assigned by the county to local health district responsibilities were reorganized within the CCDOH, and additional staff were added for a total of 26 professionals. Local health districts and officers continued to function during the initial stages of the reorganization to ensure maintenance of service levels.

The Chautauqua County Sanitary Code was adopted on Feb. 18, 1965, by the Board of Health. The local code allowed the county to set public health standards by way of rules and regulations not listed in the New York State Department of Health sanitary code.

Chautauqua County was the 25th county in New York State to organize a County Department of Health. Establishing the CCDOH created some financial advantages for the county. The department’s budget for 1965 totaled $372,611. Under previous arrangements, health districts within the county were primarily funded locally. The formation of the new CCDOH allowed the county to receive state reimbursement at a rate of 50 percent.

In 1970, the Hall R. Clothier Building, labeled as the Health and Social Services Building, was completed at a cost of $2.2 million. The CCDOH took home to this building on the fourth floor, where it remains to this day. A tuberculosis clinic was located in the basement level and other offices were occupied by Social Services, Mental Health, Veterans Service Agency, and Radio Shop.

Since the consolidation of health related functions, the number of programs, services, and the personnel to run them have all grown. In 1977, the CCDOH was responsible for health law enforcement, disease surveillance, and health education, in addition to providing conventional health services, and the list of environmental health programs lengthened to two dozen with the notable addition of duties related to maintaining ambient air quality standards for the county. Furthermore, in 1977, the CCDOH expended nearly $1.8 million and employed 85 people in attending to the health needs of county residents.

The NYSDOH requires county health departments employ a Public Health Commissioner or Director. Over 60 years, a number of Commissioners and Directors have served in this role.

Previous health commissioners/directors were as follows: Dr. Lyle D. Franzen, 1965-67; Dr. Lionel L. Richardson, 1967-73; Dr. Luis Suarez, 1973-74; Dr. Arnold F. Mazur, 1974-76; Dr. Sidney Finkelstein, 1976-81; Dr. Ronald Passafaro 1981-82; Dr. Robert Berke, 1982-2008; Christine Schuyler, 2009-22; Dr. Michael W. Faulk, 2022-23; Lacey Keefer Wilson, 2024-present.

Today the CCHD employs a staff of 52 people to manage NYSDOH mandated environmental and community health services attending to the health needs of county residents. They have consolidated clinic services to Mayville and partnered with the county’s Federally Qualified Health Center, The Chautauqua Center, to offer residents clinical services in both Jamestown and Dunkirk. The Health Department provides a wide range of environmental health services related to promoting water quality, food safety, rabies control, lead paint abatement, and services for many other environmental health improvements, interventions, and supports. The community health division provides maternal, infant and child health services, immunizations, infant and child early intervention services, and community health education and outreach with a focus on substance use and overdose prevention, sexual health education, chronic disease prevention, and overall health promotion. The department employs 16 additional staff to provide medical services to inmates at the County Jail and run the County’s Coroner Program.