FAREWELL: Buncombe County Public Health Director Stacie Saunders is leaving her position as health director for the Buncombe County Department of Health and Human Services on Dec. 31. Photo courtesy of Buncombe County
I am grateful for passionate and dedicated public health warriors with our agency and also among our community partners. Fighting a pandemic is hard work and it takes teamwork on many levels.
I am grateful for a patient and forgiving family. My time with them has been reduced greatly in order to focus on COVID-19 response. I’m appreciative of the moments we get to explore our new home – hiking trails, wading in creeks and driving along the parkway.
I think we are all looking forward to a time that we can be with families and friends again without worry of possibly getting them sick. That day is not today, but it will be a day in our future. For now, I hope folks will protect each other by wearing our masks, keeping distance, washing hands and limiting interactions. Doing these things today means that there’s a day somewhere in the “tomorrows” that we won’t have to do them anymore.
Saunders is public health director for Buncombe County.
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