Whalen chosen to lead Panhandle Health District

Lora Whalen, who leads the Panhandle Health District's Family and Community Health division, has been selected to take over as health district director this fall for retiring PHD Director Jeanne Bock.

The Board of Health unanimously approved the selection of Whalen at its July 29 meeting after a four-month search for the right person to fill the health district's top position. Whalen was chosen from 26 applicants, five of whom were interviewed.

"It was an interesting process," said Chris Beck, the Board of Health trustee who led the selection committee. "Without a doubt I think we hired the best."

The Board of Health was not seeking a change agent for the health district.

"When I see what Jeanne Bock has done as director, all I want is someone to carry on the wonderful work she's begun," said Marlow Thompson, board chairman.

Bock will leave the district in November after nine years as director.

"Lora is an accomplished leader in public health," Bock said. "She brings enthusiasm to every task she tackles and successfully reaches the goals she sets for herself, her team and PHD. PHD will be well served with Lora as director."

As director, Whalen will oversee public health services in the state's five northern counties. Those services range from immunizations, nutrition counseling and women's health checks to home health care, health education, aquifer protection and public health emergency preparedness.

Whalen, 50, joined the health district in 2001 to lead the Family and Community Health division, which handles PHD's clinical, WIC, epidemiology, and health promotion services. A native of Iowa, Whalen landed in Idaho in 1991 after earning her bachelor degrees in nursing and Spanish at the University of Iowa and serving in the U.S. Army.

Based in Landstuhl, Germany, Whalen rose to the rank of captain and assistant nurse manager of the Army hospital emergency department. She was awarded a Meritorious Service Medal.

As a civilian, Whalen put her Army experience to work at Sacred Heart, then at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Spokane. Her work as a nurse manager earned her a V.A. commendation for high standards in leadership and management roles.

Her growing family and a desire to work closer to her home in Post Falls motivated Whalen to offer her nursing management skills to the Panhandle Health District in 2001.

As PHD's director of the Family and Community Health division, Whalen encountered a 27 percent rate of patients who failed to show for appointments. She reduced the rate to 7 percent by providing services the same day clients call to schedule them.

Whalen extended weekday service hours to 7 p.m. for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) clients. She focused on assembling a topnotch staff in offices in all five counties.

"The staff is incredible," she said. "They have a love and understanding of public health."

Whalen brings a variety of experiences to the PHD director's position. She studied the micro bank system in Honduras in 2002, using her skill in Spanish to serve as the interpreter for her Rotary Club group. Micro banks are small loans that serve as seed money to start businesses.

She earned a master's degree in adult education from the University of Idaho and serves as the chairman of the Friends of Head Start board. She also participates in Kootenai Perspectives, Coeur d'Alene Rotary and Toastmasters and has performed at the Lake City Playhouse.

"I'm humbled and excited to have been chosen to lead the Panhandle Health District," Whalen said. "The community wants to be safe and its safety is our priority. We demonstrated that during H1N1. The health district, with the help of our community partners, responded to an emerging public health threat. We could never have done that alone, and I look forward now to more collaborative efforts.

"I appreciate the trust the Board of Health has placed in me and I look forward to this leadership position."

Whalen is married to Patrick Whalen and has two children - Angie, a sophomore at the University of Idaho, and Nathan, a senior at Post Falls High School. She will take over as PHD director on Nov. 3.