Vadnais Plans Health Board Changes

Rehoboth Selectman Chair Skip Vadnais plans to overhaul the town’s Health and Human Services Advisory Board. The Board was created for the purpose of handling the Covid 19 pandemic in 2020. “We needed technical advice that was not available,” Vadnais explained at Monday’s meeting. “Our Board of Health was unable to assist us in this. They had various backgrounds but none of them were medical.”

The Advisory Board provided guidance on safe distancing, the closure of certain town buildings, as well as the wearing of masks. Vadnais said the information from Dr. (Robert) Lambe and Dr. (Bruce) Thayer was “invaluable.” “We felt safe and they guided us through (the pandemic) without any major repercussions. We had little outbreaks but we certainly weren’t hit the way other communities were.”

 Elizabeth Doyle, the head of the Health and Human Services department will now serve as the Chairperson of the Advisory Board. Lambe recently resigned from the Board after serving as the Chairperson. There would also be a member from the Board of Health and the Council on Aging board, a medical professional, a health care professional, and a representative of the Rehoboth schools.

Vadnais acknowledged that although Covid is no longer a major health threat, there is still the possibility of other viruses being spread, mainly due to the influx of migrants. “We have a lot of (unvaccinated) people coming into our society,” Vadnais added.