Teller County Public Health and Environment was thrust into the spotlight after COVID-19 disrupted the lives of people around the world.
While some have moved on, hoping for the pandemic to pass, the staff continues to be engaged.
We will continue working with our state resources for community needs and to respond in the case of an emergency or surge, said Mary Higgins who, with Paula Creamer, heads the COVID-19 response.
A response was needed to the lingering effects COVID-19. Our community has felt the effects of the pandemic. Many residents have lost loved ones, suffered job loss, had to stop receiving essential services like school and health care, and much more.
Larson has noticed an increase in mental-health problems over the past two year. Larson said that the pandemic is not the only thing that affects us. It may also be a personal trauma, or ongoing struggle. We must all reach out to one another and offer support, connection, and hope to our neighbors, our friends, and strangers.
Larson encourages anyone who might need help to consult the department’s website for a list of mental health resources. co.teller.co.us/publichealth.
Michelle Wolff, the executive director of the department, provides a lifeline for nearly all aspects of health, pre-COVID as well as post-COVID.
Austin May and Keri Ptak, both environmental health scientists, inspect child care centers and schools to ensure children learn in a healthy and clean environment.
Ptak also regularly appears at local restaurants. Ptak stated that we check for cross-contamination, hand wiping, and anything else that could make us sick.
She is an environmental cop but also cuts the owners some slack while making sure the problems are fixed, if any. Quickly.
TCPHE scientists try to demolish the hopes of ravens, bears, and raccoons for a simple meal.
Ptaks and Mays’ tips include locking the trash can, freezing leftovers, before trashing them, waiting until trash-collection day, and putting the garbage out when it is collected.
Ptak sees the importance of keeping an eye on infractions as more than just pointing out them. It is part of my passion, which was why I decided to pursue environmental health.
Teller County’s environment has a significant impact on nearly every aspect of our lives. May leads the wastewater program. He said that we inspect septic systems, review applications, and do soil analysis.
May said that his presence was not always welcome.
He said that many people believe that their actions on their property will not have any effect on anyone else. However, if a septic tank is not properly installed, then what they do on their property could also be a problem for others.
Kim Newcom, a registered nurse, and Niki Nodine offer free screenings of cervical and breast cancers to women aged 21 to 64.
Nodine and Newcom offer counseling to teens who are considering becoming sexually active. Nodine stated that we talk to teens and provide birth control if they want to continue to be sexually active. We have our own pharmacy on site to provide birth control. We do IUD (intrauterine devices) implants.
Clients who need to have birth control done by a nurse practitioner. Nodine said that while we would love to see more teens in the future, they don’t know who we are.
Newcom will take over the responsibility of overseeing the immunization programs, due to Martha Hubbard’s imminent retirement. Hubbard had previously retired but was able to return to the department as the director after Jacque Revello, the commissioners, fired him. Hubbard was still available to fill in the gaps as of last week.
Public health is a refuge in a time of rising health care costs and largely unavailability through the private sector for those who are not insured, under-insured, or on Medicaid.
