By Josh Margolis
HAVRE, Mont. (NMB) – The Hill County Board of Health convened on Wednesday afternoon for their quarterly meeting.
COVID-19
During the meeting, Health Officer Kim Berg provided an update on COVID-19.
Berg says like the rest of the state and nation, Hill County has seen a recent increase in COVID-19 infections, with four new cases on Wednesday and nine new cases on Tuesday.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Hill County has reported a total of 2,071 COVID-19 cases. 19 are active, none of which are currently hospitalized. 2,006 people have recovered and 46 have died.
Although the presence of the delta variant has not yet been confirmed by surveillance testing in Hill County, the chance that it is spreading in Hill County cannot be ruled out.
Berg says that 50 percent of eligible Hill County residents have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 45 percent are fully vaccinated.
Numerous pharmacies, along with local Health Departments and Northern Montana Hospital continue to offer COVID-19 vaccines to anyone that is interested.
HABs
Despite hot and dry weather, the presence of harmful algal blooms (HABs) has yet to be confirmed in any Hill County water bodies.
Members of the Board attribute this to the lack of nutrients in many water bodies due to low water levels, which may be preventing HABs from growing.
However, Commissioner Mark Peterson says that he received a report of a possible HAB on Wednesday at Bear Paw Lake. This has yet to be confirmed.
Interlocal Agreement
With the recent passage of Senate Bill 80 in the Montana Legislature, Havre and Hill County now have to update their interlocal agreement.
SB 80 states that certain interlocal agreements can now exceed five years in duration.
The interlocal agreement between Havre and Hill County when it comes to the Health Department and Health Board was created back in 1981, well outside of the new five-year duration limit.
So representatives from the City and Hill County are now tasked with either updating the current agreement slightly or overhauling it.
Options include, but are not limited to: creating a City-County Health District that would be funded by mills, keeping the same structure of the Board but with an updated agreement, or significantly updating the agreement by giving Havre a voting member on the Health Board instead of the current advisory role they occupy.
These conversations are expected to be ongoing.
Job Openings
The Hill County Health Department currently has two job openings.
One is for a Disease Intervention Specialis, while the other is for a Congregate Living Prevention Coordinator.
Funds for these positions for the next two years are being provided by the federal government through a Public Health Preparedness grant. Hill County will only receive the funds if they are able to get people hired to these positions.
“Hopefully, the disease intervention specialist will be able to come in and take over our COVID-19 case investigations, contact tracing, to kind of alleviate (our staff’s workload),” Berg says.
The other position would work with long-term care facilities and other congregate care settings to help with disease outbreaks and providing presentations on public health prevention measures
The Hill County Health Department is also working to get someone from Americorp to work with them from September 1st 2021 thorugh August 31st, 2022 to help finalize a Community Health Improvement Plan and create an adaptable outreach plan to help ensure they are reaching rural places in Hill County.
Naloxone
With an increase in fentanyl overdoses in the region, Hill County is going to be taking part in a program from the Montana Public Health Institute that is meant to protect the lives of people who are overdosing on the drug.
Berg says there is no cost to the county for this program, which will allow the Health Department to distribute naloxone to members of the community and provide training on how to use it.
Berg says the Havre Police Department, Havre Fire Department, and Hill County Sheriff’s Office are all in support of this program.
Naloxone is a medication used to treat fentanyl overdoses in emergencies, and anyone that provides naloxone to someone overdosing is covered by good Samaritan laws.
There is no timeline on when Hill County will begin to participate in this program. The final step to securing participation in the program is finalizing a Memorandum of Understanding.
