Election 2021: Jerry Calnen MD For Enfield Board Of Education

ENFIELD, CT — Democrat Jerry Calnen MD, 73, is running for the Board of Education in Enfield.

Occupation: Pediatrician (Retired)

Experience: None

Family in government: No

The single biggest issue in town is ______, and I plan to do this about it:

The single most pressing issue facing our town is the health and welfare of our children. Our children are confronting a silent epidemic, a mental health crisis of critical proportions. A variety of mental health disorders had reached an alarming level even before the pandemic began, but COVID has made the problem much worse. Such childhood disorders as depression, anxiety, opposition/defiant disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and substance abuse are overwhelming our mental health resources.
The most appropriate place to confront the problem is where the children are: the schools. We need more child and adolescent mental health professionals in our schools to address these challenges, and we must see to it that they can work seamlessly with primary care pediatricians to prevent fragmentation of care.
Many, perhaps most, childhood and adolescent mental health disturbances and disorders have their roots in early childhood, yet as a society we have been remiss in addressing threats to young child mental health. It is absolutely critical that we focus on these problems in a timely and effective manner. Otherwise, we will be forced to confront them later in the child’s life, when treatment will necessarily be more intensive, more expensive, and less likely to be effective.
We also must see to it that COVID does not gain a foothold in our schools. Nationwide, the incidence of COVID is increasing among children and adolescents. It is true that hospitalization and mortality due to COVID is lower in the pediatric age group, but children can still become very ill, and and they can spread the disease to susceptible adults. And we have no clear idea what long-term impact COVID may have on the developing body and brain. We have to be aggressive in mandating usage of masks in schools and encouraging vaccination for all eligible children and adults.

Critical differences between me and my opponents:

I have heard nothing from my opposition about how they would confront the pressing problems listed above.

Accomplishments:

I have worked with a community collaborative (Enfield KITE) and a grant from the American Academy of Pediatrics in increasing awareness of childhood mental health challenges in our community, and in bringing a young child psychotherapy group to Enfield. Also in collaboration with KITE, I brought area pediatricians together on numerous occasions over the years to discuss developmental and childhood behavioral issues. These discussions were preceded by talks given by specialists in the field of behavioral health.
My expertise in pediatric mental health has been greatly enhanced by an intensive mini-fellowship at the REACH Institute in New York City, in 2011.
With respect to COVID, and I feel that my fellowship training in infectious disease at Brown University has given me a strong background to effectively address this terrible pandemic.

Other issues:

Not all high school students need to go to college. Our secondary schools must offer students the opportunity to acquire vocational skills that will enable them to become highly skilled workers after their formal education is completed.

What else would you like voters to know about you?

I have served the people of Enfield for over three decades as a primary care pediatrician. During this time and I have come to learn what families in this community want and need for their children. My service to this community did not end with my retirement; I feel that I now have an opportunity to serve it as a member of the Board of Education.

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