Yates County appoints Christensen as director

YATES COUNTY--At the Monday, Nov. 8 meeting of the Yates County Legislature, Sara Christensen was unanimously appointed as the next Director of Public Health for Yates County.
Christensen's appointment comes after the former Director of Public Health, Annmarie Flanagan resigned, effective Oct. 31. The recommendation to authorize the appointment of Christensen was made to the legislature as soon as Flanagan's resignation letter was presented. The county then received approval for a conditional appointment from the state commissioner of health.
"Sara has done an excellent job for the county in the past and we are thrilled to welcome her as our new Director of Public Health based on her qualifications and experience in health care," Chairman Douglas Paddock said.
Christensen is a Yates County native and has worked with the county since 2005. Christensen was a Supervising Public Health Nurse prior to being appointed as Deputy Director in 2018. She will be pursuing her master's degree in Public Health from St. John Fisher College. She also will work closely with the New York State Association of County Health Officials, attending their meetings and trainings, as provided.
County Administrator Winona Flynn stated, "Yates County is fortunate to have Sara accept the position for Director of Public Health. As she has proven in the past, as our Deputy Director and filling in, while our Director was also working in Schuyler County, that she is more than capable of taking on the role to promote health for all people in our community."
"I am very honored to be the Director of Yates County Public Health," Christensen said. "Yates County has been my home my entire life and the health of our community is very important to me. We have a very dedicated public health team and I look forward to working with them on public health programming to address the health needs of our community."