Misty Parnell, who serves as a senior environmental health specialist for the Dare County Department of Health & Human Services, has been named Dare County Employee of the Month for April 2024. The award was presented to Parnell by Dare County Department of Health & Human Services Director Dr. Sheila Davies during the Dare County Board of Commissioners meeting that was held at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, April 2, 2024.
Parnell began her service to Dare County on May 12, 2014, when she was initially hired as an environmental health specialist for the Department of Health & Human Services, and on July 1, 2018, she was promoted to her current position of senior environmental health specialist. In this role, Parnell is responsible for promoting and protecting public health through education, consultation and the enforcement of federal, state and local environmental health laws and regulations.
This crucial responsibility involves completing an assortment of tasks that are essential for protecting the health and well-being of all Dare County residents, visitors and property owners, including performing inspections of local food-handling establishments—such as restaurants, school cafeterias, mobile food units and nutritional sites—as well as lodging accommodations, nursing homes, residential care facilities, schools and daycares, and public swimming pools, among many others.
“She is well respected and appreciated not only by our team but those of clients and restaurants where she serves,” said Davies. “As you can imagine, being an inspector and going into restaurants, they don’t always welcome you with open arms, but Misty does such a great job communicating with our restaurant managers and working with them—whether it’s violations or inspections—that she’s so well respected.”
In addition to inspecting existing establishments to ensure their compliance with state health codes, Parnell is also tasked with conducting key training sessions—including a National Restaurant Association-sponsored “Serve Safe” course for local food service managers—as well as investigating complaints and assisting members of the public with matters that involve environmental health regulations.
Another integral part of Parnell’s role as a senior environmental health specialist for the Dare County Department of Health & Human Services involves conducting state-required internal quality assurance field and document reviews and preparing the county’s monthly food and lodging reports—important tasks for which Davies offered praise to Parnell for her dedication to her duties and the positive impact her efforts have on the community.
“She has always completed all of her required state inspections to keep us on track for achieving a 100 percent compliance rate with the state,” said Davies. “That is huge. That actually in turn means extra dollars to the county, and we are one of the few counties that does this year after year after year. Misty is an integral member of [Dare County] Environmental Health and the Health & Human Services team.”
As she continued her presentation, Davies also highlighted the considerable amount of praise that was shared in the Employee of the Month nomination forms submitted by Parnell’s colleagues who recommended that she receive the prestigious honor.
“To quote a few of her colleagues, Misty Parnell is an amazing coworker, health inspector, role model and trainer,” said Davies, who went on to read from one particular nomination form that stated: “I have worked with Misty for over five years now and have never worked with anyone that is so positive, pleasant and professional all the time. She makes sure to review with each inspector privately what we are doing great and what we could do better. She never says what we are doing wrong, which I think is just another example of her positive attitude. I believe she is the perfect example of what an environmental health specialist should be.”
As she concluded her remarks and presented Parnell with her Dare County Employee of the Month award for April 2024, Davies commented, “Misty is truly the perfect example of what an environmental health specialist should be and is so deserving of this honor.”
For more information about the Dare County Department of Health & Human Services, visit DareNC.gov/Health.