Washington Co. official seeking opinions about Dept. of Health

By TAYLOR BROWN

tbrown@yourmvi.com

Should Washington County have its own Department of Health?

Commissioners want to know.

On Monday, Chairwoman Diana Irey Vaughan reached out to residents on social media for their opinions on the matter.

Allegheny County has a Department of Health, which is funded by the county, giving officials access to all information contained in the department.

Washington County’s service is provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Health, so the only information the county can obtain is whatever the DOH provides.

The state hasn’t released any information pertaining to the first presumptive positive case of COVID-19 in Washington County.

Still struggling to get information, Irey Vaughan thinks it may be time for a change.

While the thought is in preliminary stages, she is interested in hearing the opinion of taxpayers, though she is not yet sure how much the move would cost.

“We have not begun to go down the road of cost,” she said. “Right now there is not even an estimate. This is very preliminary.”

The county is only 10,000 residents away from being required to have a DOH, but has decided to get input from residents to possibly get the department up and running before being required to do so.

That that might not be a conversation if it weren’t for the coronavirus, Irey Vaughan said.

News broke of the first confirmed case in the county March 13, but commissioners were not informed until the next day.

The person’s age, gender and location have not been released by the state.

“After a lengthy call with PEMA about PADOH releasing information, they were adamant that they would only release the county in which the person resides and possibly the gender,” Irey Vaughan said.

As of Thursday, there are three confirmed cases of coronavirus in Washington County, but commissioners have still received little to no information from the state, leaving them as frustrated as residents in the county, Irey Vaughan said.

“We are trying to make the right decisions to keep our residents safe, but at the same time we have very little information to go on right now,” she said. “We think we have  the right to know information about this individual. Where they live, where they work, where they traveled, who they have come in contact with, if and where they are in quarantine, and our residents who are worried deserve to know, too.

“The public is outraged and I share in that with them. It’s making our job as commissioners very difficult.”

Having a county DOH could solve that problem.

Residents were quick to respond with their opinions.

Mary Jo Podgurski, one of dozens of residents to share their insight on Monday, is a registered nurse and founder of the Washington Health System Teen Outreach program.

Podgurski said she has always wanted a department of health in the county.

“I’ve always wanted our own DOH,” she said. “Our culture is not Allegheny County’s, although I certainly respect them. We are our own culture, with our own needs. I enthusiastically support any effort that unites our community for wellness.”

She is concerned about how the county would pay for such a move.

“However, I have no idea what that would mean in cost,” she said. “Would we be duplicating services? Could we coordinate with Allegheny County and make our current relationship more effective? I think this idea needs to be carefully thought out. It shouldn’t, in my opinion, be a reaction to this virus.”

Of the most cited concerns, residents were unsure about the potential cost and worried it was reactionary to COVID-19.

Others said being more informed is not something to put a price on.