Christine Hill honored on retirement

ASHTABULA – Ashtabula City Manager Jim Timonere recalled when Ashtabula City Health Commissioner Christine Hill gave him a dire warning about “something brewing overseas.”
It was back in the time leading up to COVID-19 and she cautioned him that the world might be heading toward a pandemic.
His reaction wasn’t exactly one of alarm.
Timonere remembered telling Hill that they would talk later about it.
Thanking her for speaking with him, he told her to have a nice day and that he appreciated her time.
Timonere said Hill then came back a week later, and told him that things were starting to “heat up” and she was hearing a lot of chatter about the coming storm.
Again, he told her that he appreciated her coming up and that they would talk about her concerns as well as her department budget later.
Timonere recalled that he was then at home late one night and saw something on TV about the pandemic.
“I heard the COVID-19 that Chris had been chirping in my ear, and I finally paid attention,” he said. “I remember running in that next morning and running downstairs and going, ‘You need to tell me all about this because I think you’re right, something’s coming here.’”
Timonere took the jog down memory lane during the Feb. 17th Ashtabula City Council meeting in which Hill was recognized with a resolution honoring her on her retirement after more than 28 years as the Health Commissioner of the Ashtabula City Health Department.
Hill said Timonere’s initial reaction to the approaching pandemic was hardly unique.
She said most people didn’t believe COVID-19 could come so quickly to the United States.
“I think a lot of people were a little skeptical that it would be so life-changing,” she said. “I don’t think anyone understood how it was going to be, including myself.”
But she carried on, keeping abreast of the situation and preparing.
“I just thought, ‘You know, I’ll do my job, I will get ready for this,’” she recalled.
But the city, like the rest of the world, made it through. Hill credited the city’s various partnerships in helping it to navigate that trying time.
All during the pandemic, Timonere said, Hill provided guidance not only for the city administration and employees, but also for the citizens.
“I hope no health director ever has to go through what we went through with that pandemic, but I’m so glad that your leadership was here during that time,” he told Hill. “It meant a lot and it really showed me how much public health really means to a community.”
But over 28 years, Hill’s job was about much more than the pandemic, of course.
In addition to preventing epidemics and the spread of disease, the department that Hill led for nearly decades also seeks to promote physical and mental health, prevent injury and disability, provide essential public health services, protect against environmental hazards, and promote and encourage healthy behaviors.
“I really enjoyed it,” Hill said of the myriad responsibilities. “It was just one of these jobs where you’re never really bored. They’re always a different challenge. I just enjoyed the people that worked for me, my colleagues. It was just interesting to me.”
A highlight for Hill was the Ashtabula City Health Department being recognized in 2024 by the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) for achieving national standards that foster effectiveness and promote on-going quality improvement.
“It really touches all my divisions, all the work we do,” Hill said of the national accreditation. “It’s good to have that affirmation we were a nationally high-performing health department.”
Looking back to the beginning, Hill said she first heard about the health commissioner job from a former friend who was on city council, Bruce Schlosser.
“He mentioned to me it was going to be posted,” she said. “He said, ‘you would be very good in that role.’”
Hill said her background was as a hospital nurse with some administrative experience, but her interest was piqued nonetheless. She read the job description.
“I thought, ‘This might be a challenge, this might be interesting,’” she recalled.
Timonere told Hill at the Feb. 17 council meeting in which she was honored that her leadership really meant a lot, and it showed him how much public health really means to a community.
Ashtabula City Council member Jodi Mills, herself a retired nurse, told Hill that she feels that nurses are in something like a club.
“I’m honored from one nurse to another to have been on different committees with you and worked with you,” she said. “And as much stress as your job position is, you are always calm and kind and courteous. You just have a way about you.”
Mills told Hill that she sheds new light and brings new ideas to the table.
“You will be truly be missed,” she said.
Then, Mills read a poem about retiring nurses to Hill.
“Day in, day out, answering the calls, now time stands still within restful walls. Nurse’s heart, always open wide, with every patient standing by their side. Retirement’s call, a new chapter starts. Thank you for your selfless heart,” Mills said in reading the poem.
Hill told her it was very sweet.
She commented that she had great support during her career, from council, the Board of Health, her staff, her family, and citizens – “just countless, countless, countless people.”
“You just can’t do it alone,” she said. “But Ashtabula has always impressed me. We can do it. I don’t care what is put before us. Because there will be things, but we can do it. Thank you all for recognizing me. I really appreciate it.”
In the council chambers, Timonere read the resolution honoring Hill into the record as she stood by.
Timonere said that Hill served honorably with the Ashtabula City Health Department, interacting with all departments, city council members, city employees and the citizens of Ashtabula “through good times and bad.”
“Her work ethic and dependability are admirable and appreciated by those that count on her day in and day out,” he said.
Since she was hired as the Health Commissioner for the Ashtabula City Health Department on April 21, 1997, Timonere said Hill led the department through three different locations in the city, four different medical directors and five different city managers.
“Commissioner Hill’s leadership and guidance has made the Ashtabula City Health Department the most trusted Health Department in the county,” he said, noting this distinction was according to the 2022-2025 Ashtabula County Community Health Needs Assessment.
Continuing his reading of the resolution, Timonere noted that Hill not only directed, motivated and guided her staff and residents through the COVID 19 pandemic, but she was also witness to the attacks on 9/11 and the increased focus of emergency preparedness and response. He noted that during her career, she also saw the threats posed by anthrax/white powder, SARS, H1N1, MPOX, EBOLA and ZIKA.
Timonere said that in addition to Hill’s 24/7 public health emergency response, she has worked with various partner organizations and provided expertise and volunteerism to numerous local events, such as the annual RAM Clinic, the Longest Day of Play, Healthy Ashtabula County, and fatality review boards.
Further reading the resolution, Timonere said that Hill implemented countless policies and procedures for the department, in addition to writing the department’s foundational plans such as the Ashtabula City Health Department’s Strategic Plan, Workforce Development Plan, Performance Management and Quality Improvement Plan.
“She has spent countless hours dedicated to Countywide planning such as the Community Health Needs Assessment, the Community Health Improvement Plan and the County Emergency Management Plan,” he said.
He also recognized Hill’s achievement in leading the Ashtabula City Health Department to achieve National Public Health Accreditation Status.
He said that Hill “created a culture of professionalism with an emphasis on continuous quality improvement in meeting the mission, vision and values of the Ashtabula City Health Department.”
Timonere continued his reading of the resolution by saying that Hill’s governance and wisdom of the divisions within the health department will be missed.
He added that Hill enjoys spending time with her husband, children, grandchildren and friends, and “is looking forward to the next adventures life will bring, alongside her family.”
“Now, therefore, be it resolved that this City Council and these Public Officials of the City of Ashtabula, Ohio, do hereby convey to Commissioner Christine Hill our sincere congratulations on your retirement, and thank you for your commitment to improving the health of our city and community,” Timonere said in finishing up his reading of the resolution.
“I’m relaxed to turn the page and do something different,” Hill said, noting she will miss everyone.
But she won’t be stepping away from the health field entirely.
She plans to volunteer at the RAM Health Clinic this year in Ashtabula.