WESTFORD — Local physician Stephan Goupil has been chosen to fill a vacant Board of Health seat after longtime member Sue Hanly retired after 17 years.
Candidates present perspectives to board
Goupil, a part-time Lifestyle Medicine Physician at Extended Healthspans Littleton Road, as well as Alesia Raczelowski, a high school physical education teacher at Shrewsbury High School and 2023 Board of Health candidate, ran for the open seat.
The boards hosted both candidates to gauge their perspectives on how they would approach public health in Westford.
Goupil has a Ph.D. in Biomedical Science with a concentration in Genetics and Developmental Biology and has previously worked as a biology professor and a physician for Mass General Brigham, Emerson and Beth Israel Lahey hospitals.
He also chairs a local chapter of Walk with a Doc an international nonprofit that encourages physical health and activity. He said he wants to serve the community on the board.
“I am at a point in my life where I feel I have the capability and desire to give back to my local community that I have enjoyed being a part of,” he said.
Raczelowski, who holds a Master of Science in Kinesiology and Secondary Ed. Pedagogy from Fresno Pacific University is a former tennis instructor with Westford Recreation and a former volunteer student teacher in Westford Public Schools. She said she wanted to “bring a perspective that may not otherwise be seen” to the board.
“Essentially, my young, youthful and unique perspective is what I bring to the board,” she said.
She later clarified, “It is good to see someone who has a conflicting belief because it allows people to engage in more conversation and it broadens the scope. I do think there’s a benefit of there being someone who might ask questions that may not be asked.”
Board members question candidates
The board questioned both candidates on how each would seek information regarding a “novel virus hitting the community, state and country” that would impact their decisions regarding the response the board should take.
Raczelowski said she believes a response should be based on the needs of the community.
“If we were faced with another virus, there would have to be research done, medical institutions, doctors, reputable sources to compare ideas and compare what everyone else is doing,” she said. “But it’s important not to just go along with what everybody else is doing because every town is doing, every group of people is different, the needs might vary.”
Goupil responded, noting that he was “right on the front lines” during the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Goupil said his research involved COVID safety – what prevention measures were enforced, how they were implemented, and how they were worked at the time.
“I do think that they [responses] vary, you can’t apply the same things to COVID as you would to another disease. You have to look at the literature and work with local experts and personalize it to the problem and use an evidence-based approach and I think prevention is the key,” he said.
Board Secretary Michele Pitoniak-Crawford later questioned Raczelowski’s participation in an anti-mask protest in 2021. Westford previously implemented a mask mandate through Feb. 17, 2022, with Westford Public Schools extending the mandate through March 4, 2022.
“I did attend that standout. That was more along the lines of my frustration with firsthand seeing how students were struggling to wear masks in public schools, especially when participating in physical education,” she said. “Being in phys ed was a participation-based class.”
She added, “I had students passing out, I had students that were unwell because they had to wear the mask during phys ed. And there were ways we could’ve combated that, we could’ve been outside and removed our masks and been in the fresh air.”
Boards choose their nominee
Board of Health Chairwoman Stephanie Granger supported Goupil, noting that his clinical background “would be an excellent asset” to the board.
Select Board Chairman Scott Hazelton said he believed that Goupil’s research experience could be beneficial as the town aims to deal with Per and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances – or PFAS in the water supply.
The Board of Health and Select Board both voted unanimously to appoint Goupil to the vacant seat through May 2025.
