Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Preparedness And Policy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Public health director schedules tabletop exercise, requests board help condensing plans
Summary
Public health director Ruby Taylor outlined an infectious‑disease tabletop exercise, upcoming training requirements, and asked the board to help condense and review lengthy communicable‑disease and emergency plans at a working meeting.
Ruby Taylor, public health director for Broadwater County, briefed the board on preparedness work and policy updates, asking for board help to condense and review the department’s communicable‑disease and emergency plans.
Taylor said a highly infectious‑disease tabletop exercise will be hosted for Broadwater County on Wednesday, March 4 from 9 a.m. to noon in the school community room; the scenario will be run by the state FEP team, and Taylor is coordinating local attendance and invites to the hospital, DES and other partners. She encouraged board members to attend the first hour and to leave if the scenario does not involve their responsibilities.
Taylor said the department is entering flu season and will be “getting a little crazy” operationally. She noted required trainings and deliverables tied to state and federal partners, including a DPHHS HS training and work with DES and LEPC. Taylor said she will attend a conference (Summer Institute) in September to meet grant requirements and to get training credits.
A substantive portion of Taylor’s update concerned the county’s policy documents. She said the communicable disease (CD) plan is “45 pages long” and that she needs the board’s help to condense and modernize it. Taylor asked the board to review the CD plan and the influenza/transport plans and suggested working through one policy per meeting or holding a single working session specifically to condense and update policy language. The board agreed to schedule a working meeting Oct. 20 at 3 p.m. to begin that work.
Taylor also noted deliverables for FEP and asked members to help identify which policies and emergency plans the board should prioritize. She said some older policies show a 2021 date and that DES contributed to earlier reviews; she recommended a focused initial review and annual refreshes thereafter.
Other items mentioned during the meeting: the county will coordinate with the hospital for an earthquake “Great ShakeOut” drill on Oct. 10; attendees discussed emerging product regulation (examples raised included kratom and certain energy drinks) after noticing regulatory moves in nearby counties; and the board deferred a bylaws review to 2026 after completing the strategic‑planning and policy work.
Taylor said she will assemble the relevant policy documents for the board and promised to send them electronically for shared review prior to the working meeting.
