Public Servant of the Month: Dr. Nathalee Kong Is August 2022’s Public Servant of the Month

Special to the Journal

Mayor Brian Arrigo announced that August’s Public Servant of the Month in the City of Revere is Dr. Nathalee Kong. Dr. Kong most recently served as the City’s Chief of Health and Human Services but has finished her time as Chief as of July 28, 2022.

Residents may know Dr. Kong as the face and voice of information at the peak of COVID-19 – throughout the pandemic, Dr. Kong worked on a voluntary basis for the City of Revere where she organized vaccination clinics, worked with the Department of Public Health, and provided medical and scientific data and information to the Revere Emergency Response Team. Her knowledge and direction put Revere on the forefront for our pandemic response – her COVID-19 town halls brought in thousands of viewers and were distributed region-wide.

“We have been incredibly lucky to have Dr. Kong in the City of Revere for the last two and a half years,” said Mayor Brian Arrigo. “It’s hard to imagine our COVID response without her guidance and direction. Dr. Kong worked above and beyond for our residents, even on a voluntary basis, because her first and foremost goal has always been to keep Revere residents healthy and safe. With a smile on her face, she brought Revere some of the most informed medical information at the peak of the pandemic, and her guidance throughout the vaccination clinics was instrumental for our community. She will be sorely missed.”

Dr. Kong is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts Medical School and completed her internal medicine residency training at the Massachusetts General Hospital. She is also a graduate of the primary care residency program at MGH. While in residency at MGH she served on the Center for Diversity and Inclusion’s Residency and Fellow Committee as the community outreach chair.  As part of her duties as a primary care physician, Dr. Kong focuses on residency education and community health and is a member of the Department of Medicine’s Community Health Council.

As the Chief of Health and Human Services, Dr. Kong was responsible for directly supporting 8 departments and commissions including Elderly Services, the Department of Public Health, Community Health and Engagement, SUDI/ Homelessness, Veterans Services, Consumer Affairs, and the North Suffolk Public Health Collaborative. The chief position is responsible for managing over 40 full time and part time employees and managing nearly $4 million dollars annually in revenues and expenses over all HHS departments. Dr. Kong’s direction over the course of her time as Chief has charted the course for the future of Health and Human Services in the City of Revere.

With her departure, Dr. Kong will continue her practice as a primary care physician at Massachusetts General Hospital on Ocean Ave in Revere.

“Please join us in celebrating and thanking Dr. Kong for all her incredible work and advocacy,” said Mayor Brian Arrigo. “Our community is a better place to live because of her, and her impact will be forever engrained into our city.”