“I Stayed for My Community”: After 30 Years, Evelena Sutterfield Retires from Clark County Health Department
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By Emily Bontrager
After nearly three decades of serving Clark County, Evelena Sutterfield is hanging up her Administrator’s badge at the Clark County Health Department, a place she has called her professional home for 30 years in January.
A familiar and trusted face in local public health and a lifelong Clark County resident, Evelena, has seen it all, from paper records to new technology, to navigating the challenges of modern healthcare systems, pandemics, and government regulations. Through it all, her focus has remained the same: caring for her community.
“I came to the Health Department for my family, but I stayed for my community” she said. “My children were small, and this was a great place to work while raising a family.”
In 1985 Evelena graduated from Clark County R-1 High School. Evelena began her healthcare journey at just 18 years old when she went to work as an aide at the nursing home. She went on to attend Southeastern Community College, earning her nursing degree in 1991. She worked at Blessing Hospital for five years before joining the Clark County Health Department in January 1996.
“When I started, we had about half the staff that we have now,” she recalled. “We all did a little bit of everything. I was a public health nurse and home health nurse. There were only five full-time employees and several part-time employees. To meet the needs of the community, the staff size has grown over the years.”
Today, the department has 16 full-time employees as well as several contracted professionals, including an Environmentalist/Emergency Planner, therapists for Home Health, nutritionist for WIC, and a nurse practitioner for Family Planning. Evelena has led the department as Administrator since 2007.
She followed in the footsteps of longtime administrator Janet Nixon. “Janet Nixon was one of the pioneers of getting health departments started up and going, when she asked me to come work for her at the Health Department, I said yes because you just didn’t say no to Janet Nixon! I had a lot of respect for her.” Evelena said. “She retired in 2001, and longtime employee Janet Ramsey took over for a few years. When the second Janet retired, I had already been here several years, so I just stepped up into that role.”
As Administrator, Evelena has managed daily operations and worked closely with a five-member Board of Trustees, ensuring the department fulfilled its mission to prevent, protect and promote community health.
Reflecting on her years of service, Evelena said one of the biggest changes has been technology.
“When I started, we had only a few computers in the building,” she said. “Now, I would need to go count to tell you how many we have. Everything was on paper back then.”
She’s also witnessed how the healthcare field has grown more complex.
“There’s just a lot of requirements, regulations and red tape now,” she said. “We deal with state and federal government programs, grants, contracts, home health, Medicare, Medicaid, private Insurance. It’s a lot to keep up with.”
Despite the challenges, Evelena said the rewards have been immeasurable.
“What we do here is to take care of our community,” she said. “They may not see everything that we’re doing behind the scenes, making sure their food, water, restaurants, daycares and schools are safe, as well as preventative programs to keep all people in our community healthy and safe.”
Evelena’s last official day as Administrator is October 31, but she will still be around some for the next few months. On November 1, Audrie Howe, RN, will step into the role.
“Audrie has been with the Health Department for ten years, training with me for the last six months, and she’s doing a great job,” Evelena said. “I feel like I’m leaving it in very capable hands.”
Evelena and her husband, Greg Sutterfield, live in Kahoka, where they look forward to spending more time with family and enjoying their next chapter of life together after retirement.
“It’s all about my grandbabies,” she said with a smile. “I don’t want to miss a thing. Greg is officially retired now, too. There’s a lot of things we want to do together, and I want to be there for my family.”
As she reflects on her long career, Evelena expressed deep gratitude to everyone who’s been part of her journey.
“I just want to thank everybody, past and present coworkers, our board, and the community, for all their support through the years,” she said. “There’s been ups and downs, pandemics, and lots of changes, but through it all, it’s taken a team and a community. I didn’t do any of it alone.”
As she closes this chapter of her career, Evelena Sutterfield leaves a lasting mark on the Clark County Health Department. Her dedication has helped shape a healthier, stronger community, one she’s proud to have served and one that will continue to benefit from her years of care and guidance.
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