Programs for the Douglas County Health Department have been up and running for over two months and during a March 9 meeting, Executive Director Michael Hill gave an update on the independent health department. 

“I think the way this county approached the health department by phasing it in over the last year has really been to our benefit,” said Hill. 

As staff are developing relationships and creating partnerships with more organizations, the Douglas County Health Department has been working with the state and other local health departments to develop further relationships in replacement of Tri-County. 

The department has participated with the Colorado Association of Local Public Health Officials Policy Committee to keep up to date on proposed state legislation impacting health and working with Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Denver Health and all the metro region health departments to redesign a future Tuberculosis control program. 

Hill also said he participated in the Region 12 Opioid Council, which guides the expenditure of Opioid Settlement dollars in the county over the coming years. 

A brief financial report was provided for the board to discuss the expenditures and revenues of the department. 

According to Hill, the expenditures for the department are reasonably stable. It is at 16% of the fiscal year and they have expended around 10% of what they are expecting to spend for the year. 

“So that means we’re around 6% underspent at this point in the year,” said Hill. 

The department has been purchasing items and supplies for new programs since late last year and early this year, however, Hill said the department is on budget for revenues and there are going to be ebbs and flows as the year progresses.

“You will see peaks and valleys in the revenues but the expenditures should be fairly smooth because as with most organizations, it’s primarily staff that are the expenditures and salaries don’t change that frequently in the county,” said Hill.

With the goal of not spending more county tax dollars compared to the amount going to Tri-County Health Department, Hill says that this current department has done better. According to Hill, the Douglas County Health Department has more people working on the ground rather than in offices. 

Member Douglas Benevento expanded by saying that Douglas County is able to target services to what the residents of the county need and want.

“It’s a dollar issue, but it’s also a service and an efficiency issue,” said Benevento. 

Another important update from Hill is the department's completion of implementing Microsoft SharePoint as a means of storing and securely sharing documents as well as obtaining a portable hard drive from Tri-County where files were put into a SharePoint for appropriate staff to access. 

The Community Health Division update shows that clinical services at STRIDE Community Health Center are occuring at the Parker location. The update also includes that since January, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program has been operating at a high volume due to enrollment status. 

In other health concerns, Executive Director Hill said COVID cases remain relatively low in the county. Influenza and Respiratory Syncytial Virus rates have also declined since the increase seen in November. 

Board of Health member, Kevin Bracken, who also serves on the Castle Rock town council, asked if the department will be tracking and monitoring side effects affiliated with the COVID-19 vaccine. The state is tracking the side effects but there is currently no information for the county, according to Epidemiologist Fallon Simmons.

Before the meeting adjourned, the board unanimously passed a proposal for Recreational Water Program Fees. According to Environmental Health Assistant Director Caitlin Gappa, the final proposed fees include the inspection fee to be $160 per filtration system, which is $25 less than Tri-County’s fee. 

The fee will apply to all public and semi-public pools in the county. This includes recreation centers, hotels, motels and one HOA pool in the county as it allows people who don’t live in the area to purchase a membership. 

The next Board of Health meeting is scheduled for May 11.