Health board hears of rise in Hill County COVID cases

At a quarterly meeting of the Hill County Board of Health Wednesday, Hill County Public Health Director and Health Officer Kim Berg said the county has 16 active cases of COVID-19, which she said has gone up quite a bit in the last few weeks, mirroring national and state trends due to the Delta variant.

Berg said there are no confirmed cases of the Delta variant in the county yet.

“We haven’t had any Delta variants identified through the surveillance testing that Montana is doing for Hill County, yet. That doesn’t mean it’s not here,” Berg said

She said that, as of Wednesday, the county has confirmed a total of 2,067 cases, including 18 breakthrough cases in people who have been vaccinated.

She added that breakthrough cases are to be expected.

“The vaccine is not perfect, but it is a small number,” Berg said.

She said about 50 percent of the county’s eligible population has gotten at least one vaccine shot, adding that 45 percent of the county is fully vaccinated

“So, another 5 percent will get that second shot, ideally, and they’ll be fully vaccinated. We’re still pushing that it is available,” she added.

“We have Moderna and Pfizer at the health department. Bullhook (Community Health Center) has Moderna and Johnson & Johnson, (Gary & Leo’s) Pharmacy has Johnson & Johnson and then the hospital has all three vaccinations available. Rocky Boy has all three available and Fort Belknap, I believe, has all three available still,” she said.

Berg said the health department has seen an increase in people coming in for the department’s shot days with a lot of people getting the Pfizer vaccine. She said as of May 28, 15 percent of the county’s population between ages 12 to 17 received at least one shot and as of July 23 it’s up to 26 percent.

Hill County to participate in Naloxone program

Berg said she had been contacted by the Montana Public Health Institute, saying the institute has a program working with the state health department concerning Montana’s opioid response.

Berg said the program would be at no cost to the county. The program will allow the Hill County Health Department to distribute Naloxone, which is used to treat people who have overdosed on fentanyl. As part of the program, people would also be trained on how to administer Naloxone.

When asked by board member and Hill County Commissioner Jake Strissel about liability, Berg said those trained to give Naloxone are covered by Good Samaritan laws.

Berg said Havre Fire Chief Mel Paulson, Havre Police Department Chief Gabe Matosich and Hill County Sheriff and Coroner Jamie Ross all support the county’s participation in the program.

There was no timeline given for when the county would begin participation in the program.

As far as next steps, Berg said the Montana Public Health Institute would help put together a memorandum of understanding between Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services and the Hill County Health Department.

Hill County Health Department and City of Havre to update interlocal agreement

Board member Kristi Kline talked about the interlocal agreement between Havre and the health department.

Kline said due to recent legislation, Senate Bill 80, the interlocal agreement has been limited to a five-year term, making the current agreement outdated.

Board members said during the meeting the agreement between Havre and the county health department and health board was created in 1981.

Kline talked about the possibility of creating a city-county board of health.

Havre Mayor Tim Solomon and Finance Director and City Clerk Doug Kaercher, who is running for mayor, were at the meeting to discuss the issue.

As it stands, the health board consists of Kline, Erica McKeon-Hanson and Hill County commissioners Diane McLean, Mark Peterson and Jake Strissel.

The proposed board would have much the same structure but also include additional members including but not limited to City Council members.

“What you’re looking for is a spattering of your community that can speak to those effects of the health of the community. So you know, you may see an eye doctor that sees something that’s going on, you may see a dentist … and then you have the general public, too.”

No final decision was made regarding a city-county board, but it was agreed that the interlocal agreement needs to be updated due to SB 80.

Solomon said the agreement already created a city-county board, but the city only is in an advisory rather than a voting position.

“And so it’s technically a city-county board by agreement already. So it does need to be updated, especially with the review. It needs to be updated and we need to talk about how we want to make it look as far as moving forward, because a lot of things have changed over the years,” he added.

The next quarterly Board of Health meeting is Oct. 20.