HAVRE, Mont. (NMB) – The Hill County Board of Health convened on Wednesday afternoon for their quarterly meeting at the Courthouse Annex.
With Commissioners Mark Peterson and Jake Strissel absent, the Board was barely able to establish a quorum, although they did not end up voting on anything besides meeting minutes. In addition, many Health Department employees were absent because they are participating in a Summer Institute out of the area.
Perhaps the most notable updates came from Sanitarian Clay Vincent, particularly regarding the Great Northern Fair.
Vincent says it is his understanding the Fair went mostly well, but the carnival, operated by Midway West Amusements, had big issues across several days.
“How do I say it nicely?” said Vincent after a deep sigh. “Most of the places did really well. I was really disappointed in the carnival here. There was a language barrier, there was temperature problems, there was food left out, there was just all sorts of things. That was just a problem for several days.”
Vincent says that food had to be thrown out from the carnival food booths as it was way out of the required temperature.
“They had to throw out some food that was way out of temperature. And some others that were just sitting out that were supposed to be under a certain temperature requirement for heat lamps. And if you can’t communicate with the people because they aren’t speaking English very well, it’s tough to get some of that across, which just makes it more of a problem. And just other things. So yeah, I was up there about three days.”
Vincent also announced that a county resident had to be hospitalized recently after contracting cases of both campylobacter and e-coli, and another resident contracted giardia. These may have been due to contaminated food and water. Vincent urges people to be very cautious when recreating in dirty water and not to swallow it.
“We always tell people you have to wash your hands. If you’re going to be out dealing with pets, dealing with other animals – doesn’t matter. If you’re in dirty water, there’s things you don’t want. And people play a lot of times in Beaver Creek, in Fresno, in different places, and they kind of forget that things get stirred up and you really don’t want to be swallowing that water, because our immune system isn’t used to the things that are in there.”
Vincent also says he continues to receive one or two reports of dog bites a week.
Thanks to wet weather recently, Vincent says he has yet to receive reports of blue-green algae in area water bodies this summer.
Vincent also announced that Uncle Joe’s is transitioning into becoming an Italian Restaurant, and the old boot repair shop on Main Street will soon become ‘Jenny’s Kitchen,’ which will serve food including rice bowls.
Vincent came out of retirement over a year ago to assist the county as a Sanitarian part-time, but he continues to express his desire to once again retire.
Hill County has had the Sanitarian position listed for well over a year and still seeks applicants. Requirements include a four-year degree in biological or chemical sciences, among other necessities, including microbiology. A national test must be taken and there can be a training done prior to becoming a Sanitarian. Health Insurance and other benefits are provided. The budget currently only has enough money allocated for a part-time sanitarian, but if more funding becomes available, it could be changed for full-time.
“It’s really an important position for all counties to keep us healthy and follow up on these things like (campylobacter),” said Board member Erica McKeon-Hanson, who thanked Vincent for sacrifices he has made in order to continue serving the public.
Also discussed at the meeting:
- Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) services can continue to be done remotely when possible through at least the rest of the calendar year due to the extension of the national public health emergency. They have services available in Chester, Chinook and Havre. Increased stipends for clients for fruit and vegetable purchases will continue through at least September, and the hope is it will be extended by a year. Hill County WIC has been monitored recently by the state and the federal government, and WIC Coordinator Nicole Hungerford says they have received high remarks and are in great standing. Hill County WIC has also been monitoring local stores to ensure stocking requirements are met and dates on food are proper, and Hungerford says she has not found any issues. In addition, she says stock of baby formula is improving, but is not back to normal levels yet.
- Narcan training remains available for those interested in helping stem the epidemic of fentanyl overdoses
- An update provided from Health Officer Kim Berg states COVID cases have seen a recent uptick in the County, with many coming from people reporting positive results on at-home tests. 56 percent of eligible County residents (ages 6 months and up) are considered fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
- The Health Department had their new pharmaceutical fridge arrive recently, but it was badly damaged. They are now working to return the fridge and obtain a replacement, but the process may be lengthy. In the meantime, the Department has portable coolers to store items needing to be kept at low temperatures.
- Berg stated that her Department still has about $70,000 in COVID relief funds allocated by the County Commission to utilize for COVID mitigation efforts.
- There was essentially no discussion about the status of a renewal of an interlocal agreement with Havre and Hill County, as well as a review of a potential restructuring of the Board. This is because there has not been an update since the last quarterly meeting. The subcommittee reviewing the matter has had a change of personnel, as now-retired Fire Chief Mel Paulson has been replaced by Havre Police Chief Gabe Matosich. The other member of the subcommittee is Commissioner Mark Peterson.
- Board member Erica McKeon-Hanson said she has left her job at MSU-Northern and now serves as a Rural Community Research Associate for MSU-Bozeman. This is a remote position, so McKeon-Hanson continues to live in Hill County and has no intention of leaving the Board.
- The Health Department has hired a new Health Program Assistant and Family Planning Coordinator, but continues to seek an Immunization Nurse
