Adams County has chosen a former tri-county health official to lead its new health department

Adams County has appointed a former Tri-County Health Department official to serve as director of the newly formed Adams County Health Department, the county’s public health oversight body, after Tri-County’s dissolution in early 2023.

One of the new department’s top priorities is “achieving health equity,” said director-elect Dr. Kelly Weidenbach in a news release.

“We often talk about raising the voices of communities and peoples who have historically been undervalued, underrepresented, and have experienced negative or disproportionate outcomes,” Weidenbach said in the release.

The Tri-County Health Partnership, which has delivered health services to Adams, Arapahoe and Douglas counties for more than 50 years, will soon disappear, largely due to disagreements over Covid-19 policies in Douglas County.

The process of the three counties leaving the Tri-County was initiated by the Douglas County Commissioners. Deciding to leave the health agency immediately in September 2021 after months of disagreement over Covid-19 protection measures.

The Tri-County has become a magnet for attention during earlier coronavirus outbreaks, issuing mask-wearing orders for schools and the public. But local public health agencies often perform other functions that are out of the public eye.

For example, the Adams County Health Department offers a variety of clinical services at reduced or no cost to residents, including vaccinations, chronic disease prevention, free food registration for women and their children who cannot afford groceries, and in the coming months, gonorrhea and sexual health, family planning and STD treatment, and Increased availability of testing.

Regional agencies take different forms

The makeup of the single-county health departments of Adams and Arapahoe appears to be set to feature more tri-county predecessors than the Douglas health department.

Tri-County lists 10 employees as an “executive team,” a group of leaders who oversee priorities such as emergency preparedness, disease surveillance and environmental health. Arapahoe County has brought together six of those leaders — as well as Tri-County’s former director of nursing — to work for the coming single-county health department starting in July.

Adams County is set to hire one of 10 leaders and a former Tri-County policy expert in addition to Weidenbach. Douglas County He hasn’t hired any of those three key county staff members since July.

Although the Douglas County Health Department has not announced the high-level hires of the former Tri-County staff, the new department will welcome a few employees from the spending agency.

“So far we have hired two people from Tri-County. Expect maybe 10 more,” a statement from Douglas County said in late July.

During an April 19 work session of county commissioners with county elected leaders, the Douglas County Health Department floated a staffing organizational chart that includes about 35 full-time employees and two contractors.

The Adams County Health Department, meanwhile, He plans to hire A total of about 170 employees, although that number is subject to change, Adams County Commissioner Lynn Baca said.

“We have at least 60 employees coming from Tri-County Health in various positions,” Baca told Colorado Community Media in July.

Arapahoe County expects to hire up to 180 people for its health department, county spokesman Luke Hatlestad said.

Asked how many low-level Tri-County Health employees will work for the Arapahoe County Health Department, Arapahoe County said in a July statement: “We don’t have specifics yet, but hiring as mentioned is a priority.” (Arapahoe County Health) leadership and Tri-County staff have a wealth of valuable experience and expertise.

Focus on different populations

While the tri-county split started to emerge in Douglas County, Adams County has elected leaders. He showed some enthusiasm. Going out – although this is not due to the resistance to masks during the previous outbreak.

Baca called the transition a “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity and a gateway to better serve the unique needs of Adams County residents.

“I think this gives us an opportunity to better address the needs of our diverse population in Adams,” Dr. Sheila Mahnke, president of the Adams County Board of Health, said in a news release.

Forty-one percent of people in Adams County identify as Hispanic or Latino and 46% identify as white only, Colorado Community Media reported in 2021. According to the Washington Post, Adams County Most of the 65 states in the US are minority In the last decade. “Majority Minority” means that the majority of residents are people of color.

Mental health, addiction can be prioritized

Weidenbach, who serves as executive director of the Adams County Health Department, was previously named Adams County Public Health Transition Director — a position he led as the county worked to transition to a new public health department. The county announced its new position on Sept. 1.

“We’re looking at recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic — looking at areas where society has lost interest in important health issues like mental health, substance abuse, and physical and mental well-being,” Weidenbach said. The news release.

“Mental and behavioral health is certainly a focus of our Board of Commissioners. So we will look at how we can develop and build capacity within the new health department to address barriers to improving mental health in the community,” Weidenbach said in the release.