Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Health Nursing topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Marion County proclaims May 6–12, 2025, Nurses Week and highlights county nursing programs
Summary
The Board of Commissioners approved a proclamation recognizing National Nurses Week in Marion County and heard from county nursing staff about public-health, behavioral-health and addiction treatment services and the county's medication-assisted treatment program.
Carol Hurd, Addiction Treatment Services Division Director with Marion County Health and Human Services, asked the board to approve a proclamation recognizing the week of May 6–12, 2025, as Nurses Week in Marion County. "I am honored to be here today seeking approval for the proclamation recognizing May as, May 2025 as nurses week in Marion County," Hurd said.
County nursing staff described their programs and day-to-day work for commissioners before the board approved the proclamation by voice vote. Heath Barker, a registered nurse and the newly appointed program manager at the county's Adult Behavioral Health facility on Silverton Road, told commissioners the team is "committed to the positive outcomes of our community" and credited collaboration with nurse practitioners and doctors for improved patient outcomes.
Dina Young, an addiction services nurse, said Marion County's medication-assisted treatment (MAT) program "has been operational since the late 1980s" and currently serves "approximately a 150 clients" age 18 and older for opioid use disorder. Young described services including methadone and buprenorphine administration, court advocacy, parent-child reunification assistance, bilingual outreach, and partnerships with Salem Health for neonatal opioid withdrawal treatment.
Julie Minton, a home-visiting nurse, said three nurses in the county's early childhood nursing program serve about 50 families and focus on reducing barriers to care and supporting child development. Deborah Harris, the county tuberculosis case manager, explained that "tuberculosis medication has to be given in an observed way," describing daily observation and video-observed therapy.
Commissioners thanked staff for their work and approved the proclamation. The formal proclamation language presented to the board noted National Nurses Week's history and recognized the role of nurses across public health, behavioral health and correctional settings in Marion County.
The board voted to approve the proclamation by voice vote; no roll-call tally was recorded in the public proceedings.
