Meza seeks seat on Cape County health board

This story is updated.

This is the ninth 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. Nine candidates seeking four-year terms are running for three available seats. Additionally, two candidates are vying to fill a single unexpired two-year term.

Dr. Carol Meza is a physician who currently works as an adjunct professor at Maryville University in St. Louis. She and her husband reside in Burfordville and manage a small farm with goats and horses. Meza homeschools one of her children and directs a high school class. (Dr. Meza's qualifications and background can be found later in the article.)

She seeks a full four-year term of the PHC Board of Trustees.

Why do you want to serve?

It's my Christian duty to serve where there is need. The times require discernment and courage and I'm asking to be elected to serve others, not me. I'm offering my medical expertise, my Christian values, my sworn oath to uphold the Constitution and I'll respect individual rights. I've lived all over this great country and we chose this community. It's beautiful, it's diverse, conservative, hard-working, Godly and full of friendly people. You don't know how special Cape Girardeau County is until you've lived elsewhere. The public health board isn't providing accurate data, their policies have divided friends and family, they stoked fear instead of trust and they have overstepped their boundaries. They have dismissed the public. Some believe they've done a good job. My experience and expertise say otherwise and I'm offering a clear path to a healthy and holistic future. The public health board needs new perspectives and new people to lead into a future where businesses can open again, kids can go to school again, sporting events can be held again and where we can live without fear again.

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

My feelings aren't important. Facts and truth are. Also, a bit of common sense goes a long way. The order itself should be repealed because it relies on faulty data. Even with the best vaccines and therapeutics, this virus is in the world forever. (COVID-19) has a much lower fatality rate than expected, so we need to change our health policies to address these facts. Where does a slippery slope end? Keeping a person 100% safe makes that person 0% free. It may have been based on good intentions but (the board) has used faulty data. There are changing definitions of what is a COVID-19 case. The RT-PCR test has serious flaws, which are now common knowledge. The data we need to be concerned with are hospital capacity and deaths. We need accurate data to make good decisions. Medically, I advise only certain groups to wear a mask under certain conditions. We know much more today, and we can tailor our recommendations to fit our current knowledge. Certainly, we need to protect our most vulnerable populations. Accurate data should drive our decisions, not fear. This is not Ebola, which killed 50%. It's not smallpox, which killed 30%. It's not the bubonic plague. Someday, we might need to encourage some drastic measures, but that day is not today. Our Cape Girardeau County COVID-19 fatality rate is 0.17%. That's the deaths divided by the 2019 population. Our best measures of preventing the spread of a virus have not changed. The mask order is not making us healthier. It's the cause of our community being divided and anxious. The Cape Girardeau County Public Health Department has granted itself powers of protection under the excuse of the state being under a state of emergency. Last I checked, emergencies do not revoke our rights. We can protect the vulnerable without taking rights away. Given accurate information, I have trust in the people to make the decisions that are right for them.

What are your qualifications/background?

I served as a U.S. Navy flight surgeon and worked in a public health role in Tennessee. I obtained my undergraduate degree from Hendrix College in Arkansas and earned my M.D. at America's only military medical school, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. I am trained for aviation mishaps, mass casualties, chembio warfare and occupational medicine. I also have experience cooperating with local, state and federal agencies.

I believe I'm uniquely qualified to be a servant leader on the trustees. I don't need to be liked but I want to be trusted. I can be trusted to address citizen concerns, to provide education and information, to promote holistic wellness and to protect individual rights. Being a Christian is a qualification in serving others. You serve the Lord by serving others. Currently I'm an educator and education is foundational to self-governance.

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

The role dictated by Missouri statutes and the board of trustees' bylaws. It's important for the board not to overstep its boundaries and stay within those dictates. Policies can have unintended consequences, including economic repercussions and mental health effects, especially for our children. Duties within the scope of the public health board include data collection, reporting to the state, fiscal duties, contracts, receiving the annual health center report, selecting the public health center director, approving hiring the director recommends, submitting audits to the county commission, supporting public health clinic services such as WIC, immunizations, water testing, food inspections and disaster preparedness. The 2019 Community Health Improvement Plan revealed the priorities of the Public Health Center and I would continue to support those initiatives: mental health, prevention and transportation access to care. Overall goals are to support and encourage a healthy population.

What are your goals as a county health board trustee?

My goal is to restore health and trust to the public health department. I want to continue some of the excellent programs and improve communication with the public in times of crisis. My specific goals will adjust as needed but the end point is a free community that's healthier and happier, more informed with healthy lifestyle choices, prepared for emergencies and empowered to make their own health choices.