Profile

Melissa Southwick

VDH

Contact Details

VDH

Bio

Melissa Southwick is a Public Health Administrator with the Health Promotion Disease Prevention Division of the Vermont Department of Health. Melissa is the newly trained DSMES State Quality Specialist.  Melissa manages Vermont’s Statewide My Healthy Vermont Initiative. My Healthy Vermont, which includes s Diabetes Self-Management and Diabetes Prevention programs, among others, is Vermont’s unique model for offering centrally administered, high quality, programs, free of charge, to all Vermonters. Melissa brings robust experience with social determinates of health and their implications for chronic condition management. Melissa began her career in human services as a case manager with Vermont’s largest Area Agency on Aging. From there, Melissa transitioned to an innovative program called Support and Services at Home (SASH). SASH is a data-driven, nationally recognized, model that embeds care coordinators and RN wellness nurses directly into senior housing, serving people and providing care where they live. Over the years, Melissa held several roles on the SASH administrative team, ultimately serving as director. Melissa is thrilled to work with Chelsea, all the members of the Public Health COI, and ACDES.