As the song goes, breaking up is hard to do.
La Plata and Archuleta counties will each go their own way as San Juan Basin Public Health – as we know it – dissolves over the next year. A collegial departure, it’s an opportunity for each county to look in the mirror as to what services should be added, reduced or eliminated all together.
Although challenging to untangle, a planned and orderly dissolution is best for both counties and residents served.
Archuleta County initiated the breakup based on SJBPH’s 2020 mandates on virus-suppressing mask use, stronger than what was thought necessary by those in Archuleta County. SJBPH’s joint efforts could not continue with widely different positions and philosophies on such a significant issue between the two counties.
Masks, now almost gone, were considered the straw. Archuleta County residents’ self-dependent minded spirit might have surfaced in other decisions and regulatory tasks, such as restaurant and septic inspections, for example.
The split is now underway, beginning the state-mandated one year pre-separation period to give both counties time to determine how to continue services. Public health is a mix of state and federal mandates, local desires and funding from all three. Think, among them, tobacco prevention; care for women, infants and children; lead testing; cancer screening community health assessments and much more.
Expect local opinion gathering in both counties, and the results of the League of Women Voters’ summer and fall survey of health-care wants for La Plata County will likely be reviewed. The results of that project are expected soon.
And what if Mercy Regional Medical Center weighed in on the public-health shaping effort? A large gap exists between public health’s programs and Mercy’s specialties. But at the beginnings and the edges, there might be some overlap that would benefit both, ultimately affecting residents and patients.
We look forward to seeing how new public health departments will grow in response to the unique needs, wants and reactions of each county’s residents. SJBPH has demonstrated superb leadership in its public health director and in its engaged – if small – board. That bodes well for all of us.