Main goal of new director is prevention

While Amy Roggenbuck may be wearing many hats, she will always be focusing on prevention.
“Our overall goal is to try to have people reach their full potential health-wise and keep them there,” she said. “If we have a prevention focus as a larger part of our work, this may create a higher quality of life for people to live longer lives free of preventable disease, disability, injury or premature death.”
On June 22, Roggenbuck became the director of the Dodge and Steele County public health department. The two will operate as a community health board with separate health departments.
“This is a good opportunity to have the same director and administrator to look at some of our processes to see where we can partner,” she said. “Not that we’re not now, but I think there is more opportunity to do that.”
Roggenbuck will also be the community services division director for Steele County. She will oversee the support staff of the extension service, veteran’s services office and environmental services office.
Steele County Administrator Laura Elvebak said Roggenbuck brings a great deal of community health experience to both Steele and Dodge counties. “In addition to the technical knowledge of the position, Amy has experience working with multiple units and levels of government involving collaboration and coordination,” she said.
Elvebak added that the intent would be to provide a community health organization that provides efficient and effective services to the public of both Steele and Dodge counties. “Her knowledge and ability to work with the experienced staff will provide opportunities for best practices of both counties to be maintained and enhanced and additional opportunities to streamline services and best utilize resources available to the counties, while maintaining the distinct identities of the two public health organizations,” Elvebak said.
Roggenbuck graduated from Ellendale-Geneva High School in 1989. She has a degree in community health education from the University of Minnesota-Duluth and also is a certified health education specialist.
She has spent her career in the prevention field. Roggenbuck said she enjoys creating collaboratives and partnerships surrounding health issues.
Her career started out as a health educator for a public health agency in western Minnesota, but also included working for the department of public safety and department of transportation in the prevention field. Roggenbuck has also worked with the Toward Zero Death program both state-wide and region-wide. She recently was the public health director and the Community Health Service administrator for Waseca County.
“My whole career I’ve always had a strong calling to serve the public. I really feel the need to be a public servant,” she said. “Public health is the best fit for me considering my background in health education.”
Public health has changed over the last decade leaning toward preventative population health, but still working with individual health.
“We’ve really had a more concentrated effort on population health; changing behaviors so people can be healthier and live healthier,” she stated. “The challenge is that it takes time to change behavior. It takes a lot of effort. It takes creative ways to think of how to do that.”
Roggenbuck will be looking at combining processes in her job. “I think it holds some challenges,” she said. “It will also create opportunities for us to take a look at using best practices from other counties and agencies to streamline things.” 
Also one of her focuses will be on population health. Through a health assessment, the department has identified 10 and will focus on the top three. These include reducing obesity, increasing physical activity and healthy eating and reducing tobacco use.
“It is more of a behavior change we are focusing on,” Roggenbuck said.
For her first 90 days, Roggenbuck said it is important for her to gain the trust and respect as a leader in the county and those that she serves. “It is really important to establish some of that trust and it is going to take time,” she said. 
She believes it is also important to develop relationships and work together with partnerships. “Together we can accomplish more,” she said. “I do believe in a supervisory role it is really important to set the tone in the offices and the departments. I feel really strongly that if I come in with a positive attitude, ready to work and ready to serve the public, that will help my staff to do the same thing.”