Blaine County Health: Locals Participate in COVID-19 Preparedness Activities
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On February 19, 2020 Hill and Blaine County Health Departments, in conjunction with local first responder and clinical partners took part in two public health update and table-top exercises focused on COVID-19 (formally “novel coronavirus 2019”). The morning event was held in Havre at the Hill County Public Health Department and the afternoon event in Chinook, at the Blaine County Public Health Department. Public health nurses from both local health jurisdictions facilitated the discussion. In addition to the respective county health departments, participants included Hill County rural ambulance, Northern Montana Hospital and Healthcare, Hill and Blaine County and Rocky Boy Disaster and Emergency Management, Rocky Boy Clinic, Rocky Boy Public Health/Health Board, Fort Belknap Public Health Nursing, Blaine County Volunteer Ambulance, Blaine County Sheriff’s Office, and Chinook Police Department.
Topics covered included a situational report on the virus in terms of global, national and state involvement, travel screening procedures for first responders and clinical partners, and other communicable disease response policies and procedures. We then walked through a scenario to “exercise” our existing plans and address nuances of this virus and the current recommendations related to COVID-19.
The Hill and Blaine County Health Departments wish to thank all who participated in these exercises and encourage the public to stay tuned to local media and to the departments’ Facebook pages for current and accurate information about this and other public health concerns. Montana’s Department of Public Health and Human Services has developed a website dedicated to updating the COVID-19 situation with timely and reliable information. The link for that website is: https://dphhs.mt.gov/publichealth/cdepi/diseases/coronavirusmt.
