Louisville Metro Government Sees Health and Wellness Benefits of New Paid Parental Leave Policy
by CONNIE MENDEL , MPH
Have you heard the quote , “ We expect women to work like they don ’ t have children and raise children as if they don ’ t work ?” It ’ s something I often see on social media or hear in passing . With workforce demands , it appears working parents , both mothers and fathers , are finding it more difficult to balance their career and home life . They feel stressed and guilty all at the same time . Employers can help alleviate the burden by investing in their employees and giving them paid time off . I ’ m not talking about just vacation and sick time , but time to let families adjust to big life changes , like welcoming a new child into their home .
Before I go any deeper , I want to introduce myself and give you some background on why I ’ m a believer in investing in employees and their families . I ’ m Connie Mendel , the interim chief health strategist for the Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness ( LMPHW ). In 1997 , I decided to devote my career to public service when I joined the department . I started out as an environmental health specialist in the Hazardous Materials Emergency Response , Food Safety and Mosquito Control programs . Now , 26 years later , I have the honor of leading our city on the public health front .
Over the course of my career , I ’ ve had a front-row seat to history through my leadership roles . Some career highlights include my time overseeing Louisville Metro ’ s COVID-19 response , assisting in the creation of the CDC ’ s Environmental Health Training in Emergency Response ( EHTER ) Course after Hurricane Katrina , Ebola decontamination , multi-chemical train derailments , post 9 / 11 anthrax incidents , implementing LMPHW ’ s vector-borne disease surveillance program for West Nile virus , development and enforcement of Louisville Metro ’ s Smoke-Free regulations and helping to implement Louisville Metro Government ’ s Paid Parental Leave policy . But above all that , my biggest job and top accomplishment in life is being mom to my 15-year-old daughter , Katie .
When I had Katie in 2008 , Louisville Metro Government ( LMG ) did not have paid parental leave so employees had to take other forms of paid time off , like sick and vacation time . I already had 10
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