164: Barbara Waller

COO, Co County Wellness

Barbara Waller works in public health as the Chief Operating Officer for Co County Wellness, which runs HIV and STD clinics as well as providing public education.  Co County Wellness served a critical role during the pandemic by  providing contact tracing, filling the void, as Berks county does not have a Department of Public Health. They added twenty two staff members, made up of both volunteers and hired staff to serve as contact tracers, also teaming up to add additional interns from Kutztown University.   

Co County Wellness services never stopped during the pandemic, but they had to decrease the number of people in the office, and limit the number of clients served at one time in the clinic. This meant not allowing family members to accompany clients to clinic visits, which was difficult for many. Additionally, Barbara worked hard to help those who did not have commuter access to find vaccination appointments.  

Barbara herself contracted Covid in December of 2020, fortunately she recovered well. She really missed not being able to  host her annual New Years eve party, 2020 would have been the party’s 49th consecutive year.