Calandra Green, Oakland County health officer, found dead – The Oakland Press
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Oakland County Health Officer Calandra Green was found dead on Thursday, May 11, 2023. (Courtesy, Oakland County)
Calandra Green, Oakland County’s health officer and Pontiac resident, was found dead on Thursday. Sheriff’s detectives are investigating and no details were available Thursday night.
County Executive Dave Coulter called her death a tragedy.
“Our hearts are shattered at the news of the passing of our colleague and esteemed Health Officer Dr. Calandra Green,” he said in a statement emailed to The Oakland Press. “Words cannot express how devastating this news is to our Oakland County family. Calandra was a beloved member of our team and a light to all who had the privilege to know and love her.”
The North Oakland County health clinic and the South Oakland County health clinic will be closed to the public Friday, May 12, to allow employees time to grieve and seek support, he said. Grief counselors will be on hand for them and other county officials who knew her.
County Commissioner Angela Powell was a personal friend of Green and Green’s husband.
“Today is a very tragic day for our Pontiac community and the Oakland County government family,” Powell said in a text message. “Calandra was a huge advocate for anything in the health sector and especially with African American young mothers and minority health issues!”
One of Green’s outstanding qualities was her emphasis on amplifying minority issues in the county and making sure people’s voices were heard and addressed, Powell said.
“I am truly devastated and will work hard to continue her goals! I am praying for her daughter and family! She will be truly missed,” she said.
Coulter’s appointment of Green as county health officer in April, 2022, made her the first woman of color to serve in the role. She’s worked for the county as a public health nurse since August, 2019.
In March 2020, she became the Oakland County Health Division’s quality and process improvement supervisor, which included serving as the COVID-19 school nurse liaison. She hired, trained and deployed 68 nurses to 28 public school districts and 125 private or charter schools.
By May 2021, she’d been promoted to administrator for public health, developing and
managing comprehensive countywide programs. She organized and developed mental health responses in Oxford, after the mass shooting at the high school, and countywide.
During her time in the private sector, when she was known as Calandra Anderson, she worked for McLaren Health Care in Pontiac from 2007-2018. There, she rose from manager of patient care services to vice president of patient care services and chief nursing officer.
She worked for North Oakland Medical Centers in Pontiac from 1993 to 2007, serving first as manager of obstetrics and as of 2004, in the neonatal intensive care unit.
Green earned four degrees and a certificate: At Oakland University, she earned doctor of education in organizational leadership and a post-master’s certificate in lean leadership. Two degrees were from Baker College: a master’s in business administration and bachelor’s in health services administration. She earned an associate’s degree in nursing from Oakland Community College.
In 2021, Oakland University recognized Green with the Nightingale Award for Excellence in Community Nursing.
Funeral arrangements are pending.
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