Nantucket Health and Human Services outlines staff, services and community grants

Rocky Maramontes, the Town of Nantucket’s Public Health Director, opened a Town Government '101' presentation with an overview of the Health and Human Services Department, its staff and community programs. Maramontes said he began in August 2024 after 20 years at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and leads a team of 13 professionals based at 131 Pleasant Street.

Maramontes described routine public-health functions the department performs for residents, saying, “Public health is the science and practice of protecting and improving the health of people and communities.” He listed inspections of restaurants, housing and septic systems; food-safety oversight; vaccination clinics; and public-health education and disease-prevention efforts.

He gave examples of the department’s daily work: investigating disease outbreaks, reviewing septic-system plans for new construction, providing health screenings at the Saltmarsh Senior Center, testing well water for contaminants, monitoring spills, and conducting food-service and housing inspections. Maramontes said the department also educates residents about risks from ticks and mosquitoes and samples swimming beaches for bacteria during summer months.

Jeric O'neally, deputy director of Health and Human Services, said human services is focused on connecting people to available resources and managing the human-services contract review committee that distributes town-funded grants. “These grants support important initiatives such as youth behavioral health, food insecurity, and elder services,” he said.

The presentation concluded with a reminder that department staff support the Nantucket Board of Health and assist with public-record requests to promote transparency and accountability. No formal actions or votes were recorded during this briefing; officials framed the talk as information for residents.