"This is a tragedy all around": Family, coworkers mourn death of Oakland County health officer
PONTIAC, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) – Friday marked a day filled with so much heartache in Oakland County following the death of health officer Calandra Green.
The health department closed its offices so coworkers can grieve and speak with counselors. As they mourn, CBS News Detroit is learning more about how Green's life was cut short and her lasting impact on the community she was born and raised in.
"The outpouring of love from the community has been overwhelming–stopping by, the calls, the texts," Sikande Stewart, Green's sister, said.
Stewart says Green had the biggest heart for her family, church, and her hometown of Pontiac.
"She knew that Pontiac needed assistance with public health," Stewart said.
And so it became her life's work–earning four degrees, including a Ph.D.
"Dr. Green was someone who I knew as a colleague and as a dedicated advocate for public health," Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, Chief Medical Executive for the state of Michigan, told CBS News Detroit.
Green was a public health nurse for Oakland County before quickly rising thru the ranks and being named county health officer in April 2022, becoming the first person of color to hold that role.
"She's so hard-working, she's so passionate that during the pandemic, she really took the lead on standing up all of our COVID testing and vaccine sites," David Coulter, County Executive of Oakland County,
In 2021 Green was given the Nightingale Award at Oakland University for her COVID-19 efforts, including overseeing the distribution of 1,000 vaccines in four days.
"But today, nurses, we stand strong, we stand united, we stand undefeated in our pursuance of health and well-being," Green said in a video shown during the 2021 ceremony.
The night before she died, she was once at the Nightingale Awards ceremony, this time supporting her coworkers.
The next day when she didn't show up to work coworker felt something was off.
Those coworkers called Green's family, who went to her house on the 300 block of Alhambra Street and saw something wasn't right. They called 911.
According to the sheriff's office, deputies entered the home and found Green's body on the floor with her back against the couch and her husband nearby.
The medical examiner ruled the husband's death as a suicide. Dr. Green's death was a homicide.
The motive is unknown at this time.
"This is a tragedy all around, and there are two families that have been affected, and at the end of the day, we just want healing for both families," Stewart said.
The county executive plans to ask Governor Whitmer if she can order the lowering of flags to half-staff in honor of Green.
The executive added Leigh-Ann Stafford, the director of the County Health and Human Services, will be the interim public health officer.
