Paula Black is director of nursing and administrator of clinical services, and is responsible for overseeing nursing practice and clinic operations at all three public health clinic locations in the county. A registered nurse herself, Paula has extensive public health experience, beginning her career as a public health nurse before moving into leadership roles.
A native of Gastonia, Paula has managed a variety of programs and clinics at the Gaston County Health Department, Carolinas Healthcare System (now Atrium Health), and the Mecklenburg County Health Department before returning to the Public Health Division of Gaston County HHS in 2017. Paula also served as the operations chief for the department’s COVID-19 pandemic response, ensuring the community had access to the COVID-19 vaccine by organizing and implementing dozens of drive-through and walk-in mass vaccination clinics across the county.
Paula played an integral role in developing the vision and business plan for the Highland Health Center, a project that took top honors at the Management Academy for Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Paula holds a Master of Science in Nursing from Queens University in Charlotte. She is a member of the governing board of the North Carolina Public Health Association. She is also a member of the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society for Nursing, Mu Psi Chapter.