Title Page & Abstract
An Interview with Sandra Martell
Part of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library
Tumultuous 2020 Oral History project
Interview # T20-A-L-2022-26
Sandra Martell, Public Health Administrator Winnebago County Health Department, was interviewed on the date listed below as part of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library’s Tumultuous 2020 Oral History project.
Interview dates & location:
Date: March 24, 2022
Rockford, Illinois
Interview Format: Digital audio
Interviewer: Philip Pogue, ALPLM Volunteer
Total Time: 55:40 / .93 hrs.
Accessioned into the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Archives on August 3, 2022.
The interview is archived at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library in Springfield, Illinois.
© 2022 Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum
Abstract
Sandra Martell, Tumultuous 2020, T20-A-L-2022-26
Biographical Information Overview of Interview: Sandra Martell was born in Kendalville, Indiana, in 1959. She grew up in Northbrook, Illinois, and attended St. Norbert Grade School and Glenbrook North High School. In high school, Martell was active in student council, yearbook committee, and GAA, which includes archery, field hockey, swimming, and gymnastics. After graduating in 1977, she attended Marquette University for a year, intending to become a Biomedical engineer. After experiencing an outbreak of Russian flu and subsequent quarantine on campus, she realized she wanted to become a nurse. She transferred to Loyola University Chicago and earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 1982. She completed a Master of Public Health Nursing from Loyola in 1993. In 2010 she earned a Doctorate in Nursing from University of Illinois Chicago. At the time of the interview Martell had worked for over twenty-five years in public health, including at the Cook County Health Department as a nurse, interim chief operating officer, director of integrated health support, and chief nursing officer. In 2014, Martell became the third Winnebago County Public Health Administrator.
Throughout the interview, Martell discusses the challenges the COVID-19 pandemic presented to Winnebago County. Martell highlights the unique geographic location of the Winnebago County Health Department, being on the northern border and neighboring Wisconsin. She provides an overview of the health department and its one hundred employees, the services they provide, and how the Winnebago County Health Department maintained those services through the pandemic. Throughout the pandemic they worked to establish contact tracing infrastructure, create testing and vaccination sites, retrain staff, and utilize Medical Reserves. Martell describes the challenges of navigating the pandemic mitigations and the public’s response to them. She closes by detailing the personal impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on her life.
Headings/Key Words: Tumultuous 2020; Tumultuous 2020 oral history; Sandra Martell; Winnebago County Health Department; Winnebago County; public health; COVID-19 pandemic; pandemic; public health mitigations;
Note to the Reader: Readers of the oral history memoir should bear in mind that this is a transcript of the spoken word, and that the interviewer, interviewee and editor sought to preserve the informal, conversational style that is inherent in such historical sources. The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library is not responsible for the factual accuracy of the memoir, nor for the views expressed therein. We leave these for the reader to judge.
COPYRIGHT
The following material can be used for educational and other non-commercial purposes without the written permission of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library. “Fair use” criteria of Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976 must be followed. These materials are not to be deposited in other repositories, nor used for resale or commercial purposes without the authorization from the Audio-Visual Curator at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library, 112 N. 6th Street, Springfield, Illinois 62701. Telephone (217) 785-7955.