ROCKINGHAM The Richmond County government announced Tuesday that three staffing changes have been made involving the Richmond County Department of Social Services and Health Department due to the retirement of Health Director Tommy Jarrell, who is set to retire on May 27.
Stepping into fill Jarrell’s shoes will be Cheryl Speight, MSN, RN, who currently serves as director of Patient Services for the Health Department and has worked for the department since 1994. Speight will be the interim Local Public Health Director effective May 28. Over the past 15 months, Speight has managed COVID testing, investigations, reporting and vaccination efforts for the Health Department.
Daily Journal file photo
Health Director Tommy Jarrell addresses COVID-19 publicly for the first time on March 6, 2020 at a meeting of the Richmond County Board of Education.
ROCKINGHAM Tommy Jarrell, director of the Richmond County Health Department, will retire after a year of battling the COVID-19 pandemic locally while maintaining the department’s other functions.
Jarrell confirmed that he is retiring in a text Tuesday afternoon. The timeline for his departure is unclear.
Numerous Richmond County leaders have sung Jarrell’s praises throughout the pandemic for his guidance on safety measures for local governments and businesses, and providing consistent updates on case counts, trends, deaths, and the latest data. The Health Department has provided a COVID-19 Hotline to answer questions and partnering with FirstHealth to provide free testing and vaccines.