As a care resource coordinator, Scotty Tiernan of Staunton provided relief to local residents isolating while recovering from COVID-19.
Through the Staunton-Augusta Health Department of the Central Shenandoah Health District, Tiernan spent four years coordinating food, cleaning supplies, hygiene products and other relief for anyone affected by the pandemic.
Then, President Donald Trump took office in January 2025.
“After Trump was elected, we had a feeling that renewal was not going to happen again,” Tiernan said of the federal funding which employed him and 10 other staff members.
Tiernan, his supervisor and co-workers had discussed that because Trump did not believe in COVID-19, their program would likely not receive funding if he became president. Their program had just been renewed for two years into 2026.
“[Our supervisor] was optimistic and hopeful that we would get the renewal, but, I was pretty sure, it’s COVID and Trump doesn’t believe in COVID,” Tiernan said. He was starting to look for another job but expected he had until summer to really make a change.
At the end of March, Tiernan and his 10 co-workers suddenly received a text message from their supervisor that they no longer had jobs with the health department.
According to Tiernan, 10,000 health department employees like himself lost their jobs across the United States when the Trump Administration cut COVID-19 pandemic funding.
ICYMI
Tiernan was out of work for more than two months and is now the Staunton Downtown Development Association’s creative marketing and event coordinator. Losing his job at the health department turned out to be a blessing, because, while he enjoyed his work, he went to school for graphic design and marketing in 2014 to 2016. He worked in graphic design for five years.
His education and his experience in product design as the owner of PopPlastic have prepared him for his current position.
“So, I knew that going back into marketing was something that I could do and something that I enjoyed,” Tiernan said.
He also gained event coordination as an entrepreneur.
Tiernan said he loves the community in Staunton and now his job enables him to make the community better.
“I’m looking forward to seeing what I can do with the position,” Tiernan said.
As a single father of two young children, Tiernan is waiting for the short-term and long-term effects of having lost his job to subside, but he is grateful to have been part of a team assisting others during the pandemic.
“It was a great team,” he said. “Everybody there I know is fighting an uphill battle, but they really care about this community and I’m grateful to have been part of the team for that long.”
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Rebecca Barnabi
