Collins seeks third term on controversial Cape County health board

This is the first in a series of articles featuring candidates for the Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center Board of Trustees in the April 6 municipal election. The trustees are unpaid and hold regular meetings monthly. Kara Clark Summers, county clerk since 2007, told the Southeast Missourian never in her tenure have so many people filed at one time to serve as PHC trustees.

Emily Tuschhoff Collins, a lifelong Jackson resident and Jackson High School Class of 1962, is seeking a third four-year term and currently serves as treasurer of the board.

Why do you want to serve?

It’s an important role to have, to help oversee the health and welfare of people in Cape Girardeau County. We help keep the environment safe and do our part to make sure diseases are dealt with productively.

How do you feel personally about the still-in-effect July 9 mask order?

I fully support it. I’m glad, of course, to see more and more vaccinations every day in the county, but masking — with masks worn properly — is still necessary and will be for quite awhile.

What are your qualifications/background?

I’ve served eight years on the board, have lived all of my 76 years in the county and am a retired hairstylist.

Also, I know what it’s like to navigate the health care system. I’m a cancer survivor, have had cancer twice, so good health is very important to me.

What role should the trustees play in public health in Cape Girardeau County?

Well, masks are a big issue, and we need to keep in mind what is best for the whole county.

We do a number of things that get a lot less attention; for example, setting the standards for appropriate sanitation in restaurants.

What are your goals as a county health board trustee?

Right now, we all have one big goal: to rid this county of the pandemic once and for all.