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After 30 years of service, Vicki North is celebrating her retirement from the Caroline County Health Department. Her last official day with the Department will be July 1, 2025. According to Holly Trice, the CCHD’s Director of Nursing, “Vicki has worked in a plethora of programs and positions during her career and always provided exceptional customer service. Her willingness to help with a smile on her face will always be appreciated.”
A plethora of programs and positions is an understatement. North started with the CCHD as a contractual File Clerk in what is now the Choptank Community Health Administration in September of 1994. By February of 1995, she was hired as the Front Desk Office Secretary as a State Merit employee. She would later serve in the billing department for Pregnant Women and Children under the Department of Social Services, eventually becoming the Clinical Billing Fiscal Clerk, helping those in need of Medical Assistance with their applications. In 2003, North transitioned to the role of Income Maintenance Specialist with the Medical Assistance Program, and in 2013, she found her last position in the CCHD as the Lead Medical Care Program Associate for the Maryland Children’s Health Program.
“In the Medical Assistance Program, Vicki assisted the public with determining eligibility for Medical Assistance, helped with application completion and submission, and answered questions related to MA,” Trice said, “Vicki is very well known by our clients due to her knowledge and years of experience with MA.”
North said her favorite part of her time with the CCHD was working with the people of Caroline, “I enjoyed talking with them about the struggles, their achievements, and the love of their families. The community can be a very supportive backbone when needed.” It is these connections that she will miss the most when she moves to Kentucky to be closer to her son and six grandchildren after her retirement, “I will miss the people. People in Caroline County are caring and supportive… Living here and working here, you tend to build a lot of bonds with people and their families.”
Even though she is retiring, North doesn’t plan to stop combining her compassion with a career anytime soon, “I have really enjoyed my job helping others, I am really going to miss that, I am hoping I will find another role to do the same with a new start of a new chapter,” she said. She made sure to mention that it isn’t just her doing the important work of ensuring Caroline Countians have access to healthcare programs and assistance. “I started here really young with a young family, learned from my mentors, absorbed everything I could to learn about public health, and helped the community blossom into something tangible for their families to thrive and bring happiness. The happier the community is, the more strides they can make to improve their life as a whole.”
In addition to her “bittersweet” feelings towards her retirement, North is filled with gratitude for her 30 years of experience with CCHD, “Thank you to the State of Maryland and the Caroline County Health Department for allowing me to serve a great community," she said. Her co-workers celebrated this milestone with her on Friday, June 13, by throwing her a retirement party and presenting her with a certificate for her service to the community.
