Commission, MCHD talk future of public health

Fund them appropriately and let them do their jobs.
That was the theme of some recent comments from Monongalia County Commissioners Ed Hawkins and Tom Bloom regarding the state’s support of county health departments.
If public health was properly supported, Hawkins said, traditional health department roles wouldn’t need to be delegated in times of crisis — say, a pandemic, for example.
“The problem we perceive up here is that the state has a way of dealing with this that, in a way, is overstepping the bounds of what the health department is actually set up for,” Hawkins said. “Why would you be hiring extra DHHR personnel to train them in tracking when this is what the health department has been doing for eons?”
Hawkins went on to note recent comments from Gen. James Hoyer of the West Virginia National Guard indicating the guard would be administering vaccines, should one become available.
“This is not a duty of the National Guard. This is a duty of the health department,” Hawkins said, explaining that the commission intends to sit down with representatives of WVU Medicine, Mon Health and the Monongalia County Health Department.
“We want to see if we can’t influence the state to put our health departments in a position to be responsible for things they’re actually supposed to be responsible for,” Hawkins said.
“We’re trying to be proactive,” Bloom added. “This is what the virus has shown us. We need to start looking now at what the health department is going to look like in six months, a year, three years from now. We need to develop a plan.”
The comments offered by the commissioners echoed those shared by MCHD Executive Director Dr. Lee B. Smith.
“I have concerns about what the future of public health looks like because there were so many health departments that were unable to stand up and have any response, and therefore, had to rely heavily on the National Guard,” Smith said. “We relied heavily on the National Guard, but these are things we can do ourselves. We appreciate the force multiplier, but where will we be in another five years? Particularly if funding does not turn around.”
Smith’s comments were offered during a recent meeting the Monongalia County Board of Health. He declined to be interviewed for this report.
During that meeting, it was noted that the number of public health personnel across West Virginia has consistently fallen during the past decade.
It was also noted that of the emergency COVID-19 money that’s landed in West Virginia, as of May 28, the state had sent Monongalia County about $12.
MCHD did not respond when asked if any additional COVID-19 relief has been secured or received.
Smith has said he’s not only worried about where funding for things like monthly testing quotas will come from, but also concerned about the strain it puts on personnel.
This coming from the head of one of the state’s larger departments. Of the 48 departments statewide, Smith said only 18 have more than five employees — some have as few as one full-time employee — and all receive “ridiculously low salaries.”
“I don’t want to be in a position to always beg the help of the National Guard. They have other things to do. That’s taxpayer money too, and they have other jobs they need to fulfill,” Smith said. “I don’t think we need to surrender public health to the National Guard. I think we need to be able to be big boys and girls and stand up on our own.”
In the meantime, the commission is working with MCHD to secure state and or federal COVID-19 relief funding.
Additionally, the commission has discussed using a $100,000 grant provided by the state to stockpile personal protective equipment.
“We’d like to be better prepared for future events or may a reoccurrence of this in the Fall. Not that we were ill prepared this time. I believe the response of this health department in Monongalia County has been exemplary,” Hawkins said.
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