The La Plata County Board of Health named two finalists for the top job at the nascent county health department Monday.
Of the 34 applicants and four semifinalists, Tara Hardy and Mike Byrns rose to the top of the pool. They will undergo a final round of interviews as well as a public meet-and-greet next month.
Hardy hails from the nearby Silver Thread Public Health District, where she has served as the director since 2009. The department provides public health services to Hinsdale and Mineral counties.
Byrns is the assistant director of health at the Rhode Island Department of Health in Providence, where he has primarily served as the state’s leading toxicologist.
La Plata County Public Health has operated under the leadership of Interim Director Theresa Anselmo since August. Anselmo did not apply for the permanent position.
County officials had hoped to secure a permanent director last summer, but opted to appoint an interim director after one of the two finalists withdrew from consideration.
The public health director is the top public health official in the county charged with overseeing a department that enforces the state’s public health laws, is the local registrar of vital statistics, performs restaurant inspections and myriad other public health duties.
Hardy said she was intrigued by the prospect of joining a health department still in its foundation stages of formation.
“One of the advantages of being in a small agency is I have to be knowledgeable in every aspect of public health, as opposed to being siloed into just one section or another,” she said. “I definitely have more direct, hands-on knowledge of every program that’s going on because I’m in a rural place.”
Byrns said that throughout his tenure at the Rhode Island Department of Health, he has gained broad experience across public health issues, and touted his work on the state’s response to the opioid epidemic as well as assisting with the reopening of the state during the COVID-19 pandemic. The early pandemic years were difficult, he said, but also highlighted the value of his work.
“It was also a chance to see why what we do is so important, and why we need people who understand it and who can talk to the public,” Byrns said.
An event for the public to meet the two candidates will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. April 24 at the La Plata County administration building, 1101 East Second Ave. in Durango.
rschafir@durangoherald.com
