Health district administrator retires

MOSES LAKE — Grant County Health District Administrator and Nurse Director Peggy Grigg is retiring after 18 years of service.

“I have loved working in public health because I have loved working with the community,” Grigg said. “Relationships are key in accomplishing things needed to better the health of the population and I think the staff at the health district is amazing. We’ve been able to accomplish many difficult things with a very small budget.”

Grigg’s favorite memories on the job are the times she was able to interact with patients, she said.

“I’ve had many great moments here,” she said. “One is when I was a public health nurse and got to travel to different communities to provide immunizations. I made home visits and was able to interact with the population we serve, face-to-face.”

Another moment Grigg remembers fondly is the health district’s experience with the H1N1 vaccination program last year.

“We were able to utilize community volunteers to vaccinate, such as firefighters. Watching everyone working together was really satisfying,” she recalled. “Impacting the public can’t be done by one small agency, it needs to be a community effort. The H1N1 vaccination (clinics) demonstrated that.”

Grigg moved to Grant County in 1978 with her husband. She worked as a nurse for several years at Columbia Basin Hospital before landing a position at the health district.

“While I’ve worked here I’ve tried to keep pace with a growing population,” she said. “It can be tough to carry out government requirements and still be able to converse with rural, small town individuals and serve their needs. Meeting the communities’ needs and being as less of a bureaucracy as possible has been most important to me.”

Grigg’s goal was to do her best every day.

“From a personal side, I’ve tried to fulfill my own duties here with a high level of integrity,” she said.

Grigg’s biggest challenge has been balancing two positions.

“One position is very detail-oriented and the other is more ‘big picture,’” Grigg said.

Grigg’s last day is March 31. As she prepares to leave the health district, she is orienting a newly-hired administrator to take over.

Former Seattle & King County Public Health environmental health worker Jeff Ketchel is ready to start as administrator for the health district.

“This is a tremendous opportunity for me to move into public health leadership,” Ketchel said. “It’s something I’ve been working toward most of my career.”

Ketchel is already preparing for the position in the health district’s office and is attending his first board meeting March 10.

“I think he is going to do a great job,” Grigg said. “I think his prior experiences are going to be favorable and our community is fortunate to have this person.”

Ketchel is serving as administrator only.

“I think it is going to be a positive thing for the health district to have an administrator that isn’t going to be a nurse director as well,” Grigg said.

Ketchel grew up in Seattle and graduated from Central Washington University in 1994 with a bachelor’s degree in biology. He received a master’s degree in policy studies from the University of Washington in 2008 and worked at Seattle & King County Public Health for 15 years.

“I love public health,” Ketchel said. “I took an environmental class at Central when I was a senior and I just thought it was the coolest thing ever. I was just like a little kid playing with mud and I knew this was something I wanted to do.”

Ketchel accepted the position because he wanted to move his family to a smaller town.

“This is a perfect place to bring a young family to,” he said. “I love it over here. The people are so nice, hospitable and warm and I can’t wait to get more involved in the community.”

Ketchel said he’s already learned a great deal from Grigg.

“I’m glad the health district allowed Peggy and I to overlap so she can orient me into the position,” he said. “She is a wonderful mentor and I can see that I have some very big shoes to fill.”

Grigg plans on spending time with her family during retirement.

“I have a large family of six children and three stepchildren,” she said. “For a while, my focus will be on my family. I want to spend a lot of time traveling places with my husband.”

Grigg won’t forget the health district.

“I hope to continue to support the things that the health district is doing,” Grigg said. “I want to volunteer when needed.”

An open house is scheduled from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. March 31 for the community to say goodbye to Grigg. It is in the commissioner’s hearing room in the Grant County Courthouse, located at 35 C Street N.W. in Ephrata.

Originally published March 3, 2010