On behalf of the medical staff at Pagosa Springs Medical Center, we respectfully request those in power to reconsider the decision to dissolve the 80-year relationship between Archuleta and La Plata counties for the delivery of public health services.
There is a significant difference in the roles and responsibilities in the delivery of individual healthcare and public health, but the quality and availability of each has a direct impact on the other. Providers in hospitals and outpatient practices focus on an individual patient’s wellness, diagnosis and treatment. Public health focuses on the health of a community’s population through such activities as restaurant inspections, tracing and responding to infectious diseases, assuring accurate vital records for births or deaths, reducing health disparities (for example via food assistance to women, infants and children), or assuring safe water quality by enforcing the state’s regulations for septic tanks. The dissolution of the public health district will negatively impact services in both communities.
We are neighbors and friends with more in common than we have differences. There is still time to redirect efforts (and funds) to improve the public health district that exists. We encourage the commissioners of both counties to meet and discuss how to work together for the best interests of the health of everyone in Southwest Colorado.
John Wisneski
Pagosa Springs
