Feb. 19, 2023 11a
(WGTD)---Outgoing Kenosha County Public Health Officer Jen Freiheit isn’t immediately saying what her next job will be.
In a news release issued Friday, the county announced that Freiheit will leave her post March 16th to pursue another career opportunity.
"Is she leaving because of political pressures? That is not my understanding," said Julia Robinson, President of the Kenosha County Board of Health. "My understanding is that other people in the nation have recognized what a great leader Jen is and that she has some amazing training that people here may not have known about or that other people saw and thought was very important and made attractive offers," Robinson said.
Many local health officers around the country were subject to various political pressures during the pandemic and as a result resigned.
Freiheit came here in late 2019--just a few months before the pandemic hit. "We had started to talk about what direction the department needed to go and the different plans that needed to be made then COVID hit," Robinson noted. "We flipped into COVID response and again our county did really, really well as far as trying to communicate to people," Robinson said.
Robinson says she’s grateful that Freiheit gave a months’ notice in order to help smooth the transition and help cover the various bases. "I don't think that most people realize how many programs the Health Department is engaged in," Robinson said, noting that its tasks include restaurant inspections, weights and measures monitoring, school nurse functions and many more.
The county news release says Freiheit’s position will be posted in the coming weeks.
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