Health director hired for Craven County

The Craven County Board of Health named Scott Harrelson on Tuesday to succeed Health Director Wanda Sandele, who is retiring at the end of December.

The announcement came after an extended search and a closed meeting with the Craven County Board of Commissioners on Monday in which salary and employment terms were discussed. Harrelson was formally offered and accepted the job by phone.

Joan Harrell, Craven County Human Resources director, said the director is a Craven County employee and the $113,086 salary is based on the county pay scale. The health board hires the director and the commissioners set the salary.

Harrelson has been deputy director of the New Hanover County Health Department for the past five years and served as Duplin County health director from 1999 to 2003. He has submitted his resignation to New Hanover and will begin the job in Craven County on Jan. 2.

"The Board of Health welcomes Mr. Harrelson and has the utmost confidence that he will do an excellent job in his new position as Craven County health director," said Dr. Robert Monteiro, retiring health board chairman who headed the search committee.

Harrelson said in a telephone interview: "This is a great opportunity. Craven County Health Department is well thought of throughout the state and New Bern is a very attractive place to live."

He said that as a former health director who has now worked as deputy director in a larger department, "I felt it was time to be health director again. I was in the N.C. Association of Local Health Directors as director in Duplin and kept in contact with that group and with Wanda Sandele over the years.

"She has done a wonderful job; Craven County Health Department is doing a lot of exciting things, like the programs they have such as primary care, dental care, home care, and hospice. I have heard nothing but good things about it."

Harrelson, 36, is married to school counselor Michelle Harrelson and they have two sons, ages "almost 9" and 6.

"We are all really excited about the opportunity to move to New Bern," said Harrelson. He has lived in Edenton and Wilmington and sees the similarities of history and water access as a good fit for the family.

Harrelson is a 1990 graduate of East Bladen High School in Elizabethtown and has a degree in health education and a master's degree in public administration from East Carolina.

He also has extensive community service involvement, including serving as chairman of Cape Fear Healthy Carolinians and as a board member of a number of groups iinvolved in health care.

Harrelson has also coached youth sports including football, baseball, and basketball.

He said he plans to ease into what he considers a well-run department and "see what the programs are like and how things are run."

"There is no need to fix something that is not broken," he said.