National Nurses Week: Santa Barbara Public Health Department nurses making a difference

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Nurses at the Santa Barbara Public Health Department are on the go.

"I love being a nurse, I’ve worked here for almost nine years," said nurse Morena Loomis of the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department.

These nurses are passionate about improving the quality of healthcare for the community.

"We work cohesively with a group of medical assistance and nurses and physicians and specialist and we just are looking at ways to increase health equity with an arc our community," said nursing supervisor Anne Carlisle of the Santa Barbara Health Care Center.

One of their goals is to work with the rest of the care team to help eliminate health disparities. 

"What I really really like about my job is that I of course deal with individuals but again our goal is to stop the spread of any disease," said nurse Sergio Magdalenogracia of the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department.

The nurses hope more people will consider joining the profession.

"My hope is that we can get the word out there that public health again it’s a privilege. It’s an honor. It’s some thing that’s all encompassing and I would love for our newer nurses on those that are going to be left to lead this community I wish they would know that this is an option for them because public health is something special," said Carlisle.

The nurses serve in multiple roles throughout the Public Health Department.

Some of those roles include field nursing, homeless outreach, Maternal Child, Adolescent Health and more.

Currently there are several nursing career opportunities at the Public Health Department available.

"It’s so much bigger than what you can do individually and it’s really about recognizing the strength within a team," said Carlisle.

For more information on these opportunities log onto: https://www.countyofsb.org/410/Public-Health.

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