Incoming Mecklenburg health chief talks about COVID worries and his plans for 2022
Mecklenburg Deputy Health Director Dr. Raynard Washington moved to Charlotte just two days before the county declared a local state of emergency in March of 2020.
He quickly became one of the top faces of the county’s efforts to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
Now 17 months later, Washington has been tapped to take on the top health department job. He’ll be Mecklenburg’s first Black health director.
Current Health Director Gibbie Harris will retire at the end of the year, leaving Washington to take over in 2022.
“I look forward to the work ahead,” he told the Observer. “It’s also incredibly humbling. It’s certainly a weight of responsibility, but I’m humbled, honored and excited about it.”
In a Friday interview, Washington unpacked his plans for the department in the new year, his worries about the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and his time exploring Charlotte amid empty hotel rooms and closed restaurants.
Diving in
Washington was working as Philadelphia’s chief epidemiologist before making the move to Charlotte.
He planned to take a three-week break in between jobs in March of 2020 before moving to Charlotte. But Philadelphia had already seen it’s first COVID-19 case by then, so he changed his plans, working all the way through the Friday before he started the job in Mecklenburg.
He flew to Charlotte on March 14, two days before Mecklenburg County declared a local state of emergency.
On March 16, he reported for his first day of work. His first stop was a county orientation.
“And then I was whisked off to the Emergency Operation Center,” he said. “I dove in headfirst.”
Washington lived in a hotel for his first month in Charlotte — otherwise mostly empty of guests in a rapidly closing city.
“The last time this country has had that level of shutdown would have been more than a century ago,” he said. “I think we all collectively across this country at public health and in every sector, we’ll be able to talk about this for years to come.”
Washington has more time and freedom to explore Charlotte now, but there’s still a lot on his list to see.
He’s hoping to go to the Whitewater Center soon, and has started dining at local restaurants. And he’s excited to begin enjoying live music again as local businesses continue to reopen.
COVID-19 concerns
Mecklenburg’s COVID-19 trends have greatly improved since the beginning of the year. But the pandemic isn’t over. And Washington has several worries, like the increase of the more contagious Delta variant of COVID-19.
And the slow rate of vaccination in Mecklenburg County is concerning, he said.
About 49% of Mecklenburg residents are at least partially vaccinated, according to state Department of Health and Human Services numbers. But the county’s percentage has remained at 49% for over a week.
And there is still a large percentage of unvaccinated people in the community, especially among people of color and people who are prone to severe complications from COVID-19, he said.
“That’s my biggest worry,” Washington said. “…If the virus starts to spread among people that are not vaccinated, that’s where we start to lose life. And I don’t want to go back to the dark days.”
Top priorities
Along with leading the county through the COVID-19 pandemic, Washington detailed a few priorities as he takes over the health department:
▪ Five-star service
For Washington, the health department is “first and foremost” a service provider.
He wants to make sure the public has a good experience every time people interact with the agency, especially at the county’s clinics, caring for some of the most vulnerable people in the community, he said.
“It is really important to me that we are a five star service provider,” Washington said. “...I just want folks in our community to have a positive experience with the department.”
▪ Closing the health gap
Washington said he is also “incredibly passionate about the health gap in communities.”
“Particularly among those that are most vulnerable and most importantly, impacted by preventable health issues,” he added.
His goal is to transform policies, community services and living environments in Mecklenburg County in order to “make good health easy for everybody to achieve,” he said.
Credibility and trust
Washington is taking on a health department that just years ago, was facing a credibility crisis after the Observer reported that the agency failed to notify 185 women about their risk for cervical cancer following abnormal Pap smears.
Harris took over for former director Marcus Plescia months after the Pap smear errors were publicized. In her first statement after taking the job, Harris pledged to work to restore the department’s credibility.
She’s done that, Washington said.
“Gibbie has been an incredible leader in this community in the public health space,” he said. “What she’s done in the short time that she’s been here in Mecklenburg is so noteworthy and really incredible.”
And the department’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic has done a lot to solidify its credibility, he said. Amid misinformation around the virus and health care in general, trust and credibility is incredibly important, he said.
“I’m excited to be able to pick up the baton here and continue to maintain that trust,” he said.
This story was originally published July 9, 2021 at 3:57 PM.
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