Tri County Health warns of federal funding cuts, flags local overdose and teen-pregnancy rates

Kirk Bench, director of the Tri County Health Department, told the Uintah County Commission on March 25 that the department could face immediate cuts after learning the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention plans to pull back COVID contracts.

Bench said the department learned “about an hour ago” that CDC would end existing COVID contracts, and he estimated the change could force roughly $1 million in additional cuts beyond funds the department already planned to return. “We could be looking at needing to shrink our workforce this year,” he said.

The department, which serves Daggett, Duchesne and Uintah counties through an interlocal agreement, reported major 2024 revenue sources were federal grants (primarily funds passed through the Utah Department of Health and Human Services), charges for services such as permits and immunizations, and county and state contributions. Bench said federal grants made up the largest share, about $2 million, and charges for services were “just shy of a million dollars.” He said salary and wages were the department’s biggest expense—about $3.5 million.

Bench highlighted service and program totals for 2024: Tri County served more than 3,500 WIC clients (a 33% increase from 2023), inspected over 500 food and water-related entities, and reported outreach and prevention work including Narcan training, syringe exchange services and question-persuade-refer (QPR) suicide-prevention training. He said the department had one of the highest rates in Utah for drug overdose and continued to rank high for teen pregnancy and smoking during pregnancy.

Bench framed those outcomes as the department’s priorities and noted the need for community involvement on cultural issues that influence health behaviors. “These are issues where our culture sometimes either encourages these things, views these things as normal, or is accepting of some of the factors that contribute to these things,” he said.

Commissioners asked a few clarifying questions about immunizations and other program details. Bench described the decline in childhood immunization rates as “a significant concern” and said staff are available to answer questions from parents.

Bench was joined at the meeting by Darren Brown, deputy director, and Sydney Lam, public information officer, who Bench identified as the department’s point of contact for emergency outreach and communications.

The department concluded by inviting commissioners and the public to contact staff with questions and to use the department’s programs and training offerings.