Former Stanly health director announces retirement

Union County Public Health Director Dennis Joyner plans to retire at the end of December after a successful 38-year career in public health across North Carolina.

Joyner joined Union County in 2017 as director of public health within the Human Services Agency. He previously served as Stanly County Health Director for more than 12 years. In 2018, he held the position of president of the N.C. Association of Local Health Directors. Prior to his county health director posts, he was the director of the Carolinas Community Health Institute, a community health assessment and planning initiative of Carolinas HealthCare System in Charlotte (now Atrium Health). Dennis also served as the director of preventive services for the Forsyth County Health Department. Dennis’ career has had extensive involvement in various community health improvement initiatives and he has held positions from a solo community health educator in a small rural county to a county health director.

“I’ve been very fortunate and honored to spend 38 years of my working life in the public health field – a profession that I truly love and will certainly miss,” Joyner said. “We have a wonderful, dedicated public health staff, and I’m very grateful that I’ve been able to serve with them in promoting and protecting the health of Union County over the last seven years.”

Throughout his career, Joyner has been involved in community health planning, program and policy development, community health assessment and public health service management.

“Dennis has been an instrumental leader, guiding our organization through some challenging times with unwavering commitment and exceptional leadership,” said Deputy Union County Manager Patrick Niland. “We deeply appreciate his dedication to our organization and the greater community.”

“Dennis has done an excellent job of building a well-equipped team, and while he will be missed greatly, the foundation he has worked to establish is strong, and the team members who work across all our health-related programs are well-equipped and prepared to continue providing excellent service to our residents,” said Janet Payne, Human Services Agency executive director.

Joyner is still figuring out all that retirement has in store and looking forward to enjoying quality time with his family.

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