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Paula Carden, new county health department director, is filling ‘big footsteps’ left by Randall Turpin
By Rose Hooper
 When Paula Carden started working at the Jackson County Department of Public Health 18 years ago, she was a medical laboratory assistant.
Now she is the director of one of the most respected health departments in the state, with 63 employees, 17 contract positions, 100 volunteers and a $2.2 million budget.
“Seems like it all happened so fast,” said Carden, who served as interim director for several months following Randall Turpin’s retirement.
Carden received her associate degree in medical technology from Southwestern Community College and her bachelor’s degree in clinical laboratory science from Western Carolina University. She is currently working toward her master’s of public affairs at Western.
“It was a small health department when I first began,” she said. “We’ve doubled in size, but the one thing that hasn’t changed is our focus on being community-oriented.”
That aspect continues to grow, Carden said, giving an example of their new full-time bilingual staff person.
“We are the only health department west of Buncombe County that employes a full-time bilinguist,” she said.
Dental service to the community is also expanding, she said, adding that adults are now being served, as well as children.
“Most folks know about Buster, our dental van, and use it for their children, but we received a Kate B. Reynolds grant that will enable us to also have an adult dental clinic, which we hope to have in place by October.”
She’s also received funding for a permanent school health nurse.
“We hope to have this person on board in October and they will work as a team with our health educator.
“We’ve got a lot of health issues to work on, starting with obesity. We’ve become so sedentary - first it was couch potatoes in front of the television and now it’s sitting in front of a computer screen,” said Carden, whose goal is to stress physical activity for the school children.
The department also has a new full-time nurse whose concentration is bio-terrorism.
“We have to keep abreast of what’s happening all around us,” she said. “As part of that effort, we have a disaster plan in place.”
Carden said the biggest issue she has faced since taking over as director has been implementing new procedures for septic systems.
“I think we’ve got this issue behind us now; we are down to a two-week turnaround,” she said.
Another countywide issue, which also involves the health department, is the increasing use of crystal meth.
“Lorna Barnett, through Community Health Link, is planning a countywide Meth seminar, in cooperation with the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department and other agencies,” Carden said.
Otherwise, Carden says she faces no “real big problems, just mainly day-to-day issues.
“It’s been challenging to meet the needs of the staff and the public, but I enjoy that challenge.
“Randall built this department into one that is well recognized across the state; my goal is to maintain that reputation.”
Carden doesn’t have any immediate plans to make sweeping changes, concentrating instead on “filling the big footsteps left by Randall.
“Randall Turpin still serves as consultant for us – he’s a big asset and resource.”
She and her husband of 23 years, James, live in East Sylva. Carden describes herself as the “mother of five cats.”
She likes crafts, especially rubber-stamping and making greeting cards, and she and her husband like to travel. But since she became director, she has had a hard time finding any free time.
Carden takes it in stride, though, saying, “This is a great place to work; the staff is caring and compassionate. When I came to work here 18 years ago, I felt like I belonged. I still feel that way; it’s home to me. We are just like a family – even as big as we are getting to be.”
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