Lake County public health outlines tobacco licensing, testing and outreach goals for 2025–26

Lake County public health staff presented short- and long-term program goals on Oct. 15 during a work session of the Lake County Board of County Commissioners, focusing on implementation of a countywide tobacco retail licensing program, completion of a five-year community health assessment and continued expansion of immunization and harm-reduction services.

The presentation said the county and the city of Leadville adopted matching tobacco retail licensing regulations in December 2024 and have been working through implementation during 2025. Public health staff said they have found it relatively easy for people under 21 to purchase tobacco in Lake County and framed the licensing program as a way to reduce youth access. "We have increased our blood testing by over 25 percent. So we're crushing it," the presenter said when describing outreach and testing gains.

Staff sought board input and flagged several continuing priorities for 2026: amending minor regulatory provisions for the tobacco program to reduce administrative burden, finishing the public health improvement plan that follows the community health assessment, continuing stable weekly walk-in immunization clinics, expanding harm-reduction and substance-use prevention work, and pursuing new grant funding to replace or supplement shrinking state and federal streams.

Public health presentation and context Public health staff — identified in the session by first name as Amy — said the county opted to run a single tobacco retail licensing program that covers both the city of Leadville and Lake County because of the jurisdiction's small size. The presenter told the board the ordinance and implementing regulations were adopted in December 2024 and that implementation has been resource-intensive. Staff named Alana Maderos, deputy director, as leading much of the implementation work.

The presenter described a statutory requirement to complete a community health assessment every five years; a contractor was hired by the prior director, and the assessment is "almost done," with a public health improvement plan to follow in 2026. The assessment is intended to guide programming choices and identify population-level priorities.

Immunizations, harm reduction and family-planning transition Staff said they have stabilized walk-in immunization availability by offering a routine Wednesday clinic and conducting outreach clinics (for example, seasonal COVID and flu shots) to improve access. The presentation noted a transition of Title X family-planning services away from county provision toward an organization identified in the session as Elevated Community Health; public health staff said they are discussing how to continue an education component in schools but that those conversations remain preliminary.

On harm reduction, staff said they coordinate with community providers and a regional opioid abatement council. The presenter said a local harm-reduction provider (named in the meeting) now provides routine monthly services in Lake County and that the county-run harm-reduction coalition will be rebranded as a substance-use coalition.

Blood-lead testing and data Public health staff reported a greater-than-25 percent increase in blood-lead testing this year and said the program is reaching families and children who had not previously been tested. Staff emphasized the blood-lead program is separately funded by a trust and will continue irrespective of the community health assessment process, although staff said they expect to use the assessment data to inform outreach and identify gaps.

Gaps in WIC services and intergovernmental contracts Multiple commissioners and attendees pressed staff on gaps in the local WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) program. Presenters said Lake County has not had an in-person WIC provider in almost a year and that the current WIC arrangements have relied on virtual visits. Staff described coordination with Chaffee County public health for some shared work and noted that local partners are stretched thin.

Board members also asked about a roughly $13,000 annual payment from the county senior center budget to an area council of governments (named in the session with varying spellings). Staff said they have not received a sufficiently detailed invoice explaining how that money is spent and flagged the need for clearer accounting and reporting.

Grants, contracts and next steps Staff said the county is discussing participation in a prevention-focused funding opportunity (referred to in the session as Elevating Prevention in Colorado) and is applying for a CDPHE chronic disease pilot grant; the presenter said Lake County has been identified as a priority county for one of those efforts and that an application deadline of Nov. 3 was mentioned in the discussion. Staff also said they plan to renew a consulting contract with Jeff Stoll to continue advisory work on the community health advisory council and the improvement plan.

No formal board votes or motions were recorded during the segment; the presentation was framed as an informational update and a request for feedback on 2026 priorities. Staff said they will return with recommended regulatory amendments for the tobacco licensing program and with progress updates on the community health improvement plan, grant applications and contract renewals.

The board discussion also included repeated questions about where and how public health reaches residents (for example, outreach at events, partnerships with primary-care providers and WIC contacts) and whether existing data collection captures blood-lead gaps; staff said they will combine assessment data with program testing data to refine outreach strategies.

Ending Public health staff said they will continue implementing the tobacco licensing program, finish the community health assessment and begin the improvement-plan work in 2026, pursue grant opportunities and maintain stable immunization and blood-lead services. Commissioners requested additional details about the county's contracts with regional partners and about the status of WIC services; staff said they will follow up with reports and that the items will return for further discussion at future meetings.