Beltrami County public health reports storm response, community outreach and interest in mobile clinic
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Summary
Beltrami County Public Health staff updated the Community Health Board on staffing, a recent shelter response to a June storm, outreach programs, WIC status, and interest in a mobile public-health unit following regional lessons from other rural counties.
Beltrami County Public Health staff briefed the Community Health Board on Oct. 21 about staffing, recent storm response, public-outreach events and steps the department is taking to expand access to services.
Amy (last name not provided), Beltrami County Public Health Director, told the board the office is fully staffed and “ready to go,” and highlighted a recent office remodel that added a community space for education, supervised visits and WIC services. She said the remodel created a separate exam and child-friendly area that allows WIC dietitians and other staff to provide services in a less crowded setting. “We are fully staffed, and we are ready to go,” Amy said.
The presentation included photos and a summary of the department’s storm response in June. Amy described a multi-agency effort to run a shelter and keep essential services operating, noting county staff and community volunteers set up a shelter at the Sanford Center, maintained clinics and staffed a post-storm resource center in partnership with the Salvation Army. She credited “all the hands that it took” to sustain services and said three family health technicians who supported the response are now college students at NTC and will graduate with community health worker certificates in May.
Megan (last name not provided), who attended a National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) meeting in St. Paul, told the board that 17 rural public-health departments attended sessions focused on HIV and STI programming. Megan said many rural counties are expanding services by using mobile clinic units and by using opioid-settlement dollars to fund vehicle-based outreach. “We just need to — we need lower barrier access to healthcare, and instead of trying to change our patients, we really need to be changing the system in which we serve them,” Megan said, explaining that more jurisdictions are taking services to community locations to reduce transportation and stigma barriers.
On WIC, Amy told the board the program remains active and “business as normal.” She said residents can still enroll, use benefits via the benefit card and call the office for card problems and uploads. The board discussed ongoing state-level funding monitoring; Amy said the county holds weekly calls with the state to track the program’s status.
The department also highlighted outreach partnerships and community events — including foot clinics run with Soles for Soles and sponsorship of the Evergreen Conference — and training efforts such as a two-day shelter exercise with the Red Cross that the county activated during the June storm. Amy said the county printed 500 copies of a Community Health Assessment (CHA) booklet that the state has reviewed and returned with recommendations rather than corrections.
Board members asked about funding and operational options for a mobile clinic. Megan said rural counties that operate mobile units often combine service lines (immunizations, WIC, HIV/STI testing) and use opioid-settlement funding and partnerships to support operations. Commissioners discussed the county’s existing veterans’ mobile unit and the possibility of using it for broader public-health outreach when it is not in use.
The board thanked Public Health staff for outreach, preparedness work and community engagement.
Ending: The department did not present any formal motions in this section; board members were asked to review materials in the meeting packet and to raise questions or topics for the next meeting.
