BANGOR, Maine — The director of Bangor Public Health and Community Services is stepping down from her post this spring. Patty Hamilton has served in the role for a decade, overseeing the department’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic as well as many other challenges, including homelessness and the rise of fentanyl use.
“I think when I started, I don't know that I totally recognized that the whole population was my responsibility,” Hamilton said last month.
Trained in nursing, Hamilton has focused the efforts of her department on the task of providing sound healthcare. “My vision has been really the health of the whole community, from, you know, babies to adults…the whole spectrum.”
Hamilton will be replaced by Jennifer Gunderman, who currently leads the Maine Area Health Education Center, which helps boost the number of health professionals in rural parts of our state. Gunderman holds a degree in public health and has been in the field for more than two decades.
To her, leading Bangor’s public health department means taking an approach that addresses larger social issues confronting the city.
“It's everything from working with an individual to address the needs that they have, and recognizing that they're doing the best they can, under the circumstances,” Gunderman said Tuesday.
Improving conditions for the unhoused, tackling youth vaping, and bringing clarity to the public on what the department does are all things Gunderman hopes to accomplish.
To achieve this, Gunderman said she plans on using a similar outreach approach as her soon-to-be predecessor.
“You have to sit with people and understand their experience,” Gunderman said.
Jennifer Gunderman will begin her role as director of Bangor Public Health and Community Services on April 1.