La Plata County is accepting applications for qualified appointees for its board of health, which will oversee the establishment and governance of the new La Plata County Public Health Department.
Commissioners of La Plata and Archuleta counties passed a joint resolution on Nov. 15 to dissolve the existing San Juan Basin Public Health effective Dec. 31, 2023. La Plata County will accept applications for the new board through Dec. 9 so that it can have the board in place by the end of this year.
County Commissioner and member of the SJBPH Board of Health Marsha Porter-Norton said the county is seeking a diverse assemblage of applicants for the seven-seat board.
“What we are going to need in standing up a department is people who are strategic thinkers, people who have a deep bench of community knowledge and knowledge of how new systems work,” she said.
The board of health will be responsible for selecting a public health director for the county health department, recommending a budget and other governing duties once the department is running. Members are expected to meet monthly or biweekly throughout 2023 as the board stands up a new department. The position is unpaid.
The current health department fractured under the growing strain of a political and social divide between the two counties. The COVID-19 pandemic brought that divide into high relief. While localizing public health to just one county is likely to have benefits, the new board will face a similar challenge in serving its politically and ideologically diverse constituency within La Plata County.
Porter-Norton said ensuring that the board includes members who hail from all corners of the county will be critical in meeting the challenge. Because there are certain aspects of public health that “people just don’t like,” she said community outreach will be critical, especially in the next year.
In an effort to quell any appearance of politicization, there will not be a county commissioner seated on the board. The SJBPH board includes a commissioner from each county.
“One of the things that occurred in the pandemic is a realization that sometimes you can mix the goals of elected officials – some people would call that political goals or ideological goals – with public health, and it is our opinion that that isn’t the greatest way to go,” Porter-Norton said.
Her tenure on the SJBPH board will come to an end with the dissolution of the department.
While existing SJBPH board members have the option of applying for a position on the county health board, they would have to simultaneously serve on both boards if selected. In addition to the two county commissioners, the SJBPH board is composed of Shere Byrd, a biology professor at Fort Lewis College; Bob Ledger, former Durango city manager; Terryl Peterson, a financial expert; and Dr. Jon Bruss, president of a consulting firm for clinical drug development.
None of them could be reached to comment on whether they would seek a position on the new board.
The purview of public health covers a broad range of issues, and the new board will have a recently conducted Public Health Improvement Plan to guide them. SJBPH currently receives funding from 42 different grants.
Porter-Norton said she hopes the board can strike a balance between addressing human health and environmental health. However, the board’s first mandate will be to get the agency up and running, meaning the first batch of board members may be required to have a slightly different skill set than those who succeed them.
The first set of terms will vary in length to stagger the departure of the members and subsequent terms will be five years long.
The Board of County Commissioners will conduct interviews on Dec. 16 and 19 in a public meeting. To apply for the board, submit a letter of interest and a resume on the county’s website.
Despite the non-trivial workload with no financial compensation, Porter-Norton said the call for applicants presents an opportunity to give back to the community.
“It’s a chance to really put your vision and your viewpoints and your work to a better result for a better community,” she said.
rschafir@durangoherald.com
