Longtime public health leader retires

Recently retired Bloomington Public Health Manager of Disease Prevention and Control Karen Stanley loved her work. Over the last year or so, she set up contact tracing and essential services for those with COVID-19, coordinated COVID-19 vaccine for clinics and provided education regarding coronavirus to callers from the community. 

“Even though I spent more than 20 years working in emergency preparedness and Public Health had emergency response plans prepared, you don’t truly understand what it takes to respond to a pandemic of this scale until it happens,” Stanley said. 

Her other duties through the years have been far reaching. During her tenure, she managed the immunization and flu shot clinics, implemented Sage Women’s Clinic, a breast and cervical cancer screening program at Mall of America with the Minnesota Department of Health, coordinated the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Clinic, implemented the peer breastfeeding support program for WIC women, and managed the family planning clinic and provided family planning education in local public schools and more. After 45 years of service at the City, Stanley retired in August. 

“I’ve really loved my job all this time,” she said. “The thing that was always the most important to me was our clients and being able to be out making connections in the community.”

Check out a video about her work from her 40-year anniversary of service at the City at blm.mn/stanley.