Laurie Pylitt is stepping down from the Hamilton County Board of Health after 18 years of service. The retired physician assistant (PA) was first appointed to the board in 2004.
Pylitt
“I was looking for a way to contribute to the community and felt that my background gave me unique perspective into public health,” Pylitt recalled. “Over the years I’ve come to realize how lucky we are to have such an excellent Health Department, staffed by incredibly knowledgeable professionals. I’m continually impressed with the aggressive way in which our Health Department meets each and every challenge presented to it.”
Pylitt is a graduate of IU Bloomington and Indiana University-Purdue University in Fort Wayne. She also has a Master of Health Professions Education degree from the University of Illinois/Chicago Health Sciences Center. Pylitt helped found Butler University’s PA Program in 1994. During her distinguished career, Pylitt directed assessment and accreditation activities for the Indiana University Family Medicine Residency and Butler University’s Doctor of Pharmacy program. Now retired, she and her husband are making plans to travel.
“We intend to make up for many years of lost time and limited activity during the pandemic,” Pylitt said. “We got a taste of the travel that we want to do with several trips this past year but, after our daughter’s wedding next summer, we intend to really ramp up our travel schedule.”
Penney
The Hamilton County Commissioners have appointed Naomi Penney to replace Pylitt on the Health Board. A Westfield resident, Penney has over 25 years of combined public health, and program planning and evaluation experience as well as academia and community-based non-profits. She currently serves as an Adjunct Professor at the Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health and as a mentor at Butler University for students in the Real Business Experience Course at the Lacy School of Business.