Special Board of Aldermen 12-21-2021 Page 14
Alderwoman Lu
| didn't have questions for the Doctor. | had my hand up before, so I'll allow step aside.
Tony Storace, Chairman, Board of Health
We have some of the team here. Kim, would you like to present please?
Kim Bernard, Chief Public Health Nurse
Kim Bernard, 21 Louis Street. Good evening. Thank you to the Board of Aldermen for holding this important meeting.
My name is Kim Barnard. | serve as the Chief Public Health Nurse and the Manager of the Community Health
Department at the Division of Public Health and Community Services. I've been a nurse for close to 30 years.
Since January 2020, our nurses and staff members have been involved in all aspects of the COVID response
following evidence based scientific research, educating, and guiding the citizens of Nashua and the greater Nashua
region. Our service over these two years includes disease investigation and contact tracing, testing, vaccination,
guidance for the community including but not limited to the general public schools, businesses, childcare, homeless
shelters, rooming houses, city departments, long term care facilities, and other health care partners. Our team of
public health nurses provide care based upon scientific medical research. We are committed to serving our whole
community, a community that we love while protecting the health of the most vulnerable as a priority.
You have heard the data on numbers of cases, hospitalizations, and deaths. These are mothers, fathers, brothers,
sisters, wives, husbands, actual people from our community and we owe it to them to do everything we can to prevent
more severe illness and death. A fellow public health nurse said it best at the last meeting stating, “the integrity of a
community can be measured by how well we protect our most vulnerable members”. As public health professionals,
we educate individuals to make informed decisions. We give support and guidance. Some individuals cannot get
vaccinated due to factors such as age. Some may be severely immunocompromised, some may not have proper
access to care. As we have seen through the research and our own experience, masking can help protect this
population from COVID-19. | say all of this to help our community and the Board of Aldermen understand why we
support (inaudible) and the mask mandate.
Alderman Harriott-Gathright
| just got a text here. They can't hear anything that's happening here on Zoom.
Unidentified Male Speaker
Audio and video has been lost.
President Wilshire
We understand. Jeff, would you please mute.
Unidentified Female Speaker
We will not comply.
Alderman Klee
We can hear you.
President Wilshire
Jeff?
Jeff Poehnert
| am trying. | don't know what happened. Everybody can you hear what’s going on in the chamber because | can?
