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Health Department highlights pandemic readiness, dashboard and continued public‑health work
Summary
Health Department director Ralph Clegg presented the 2019 annual report, citing Public Health Ready accreditation, expanded Incident Command System training, a new mobile‑friendly website and dashboard used for COVID updates, drive‑through flu clinic preparedness, and shifts in disease‑control priorities; commissioners asked follow‑up questions about other public‑health risks during the pandemic.
Ralph Clegg, presenting the Utah County Health Department’s 2019 annual report, told commissioners the department completed a Public Health Ready accreditation, expanded Incident Command System training for staff, and launched a mobile‑friendly website and real‑time dashboard that proved useful during the COVID‑19 response.
Clegg said the department ensured at least 80% of staff were trained in the Incident Command System and that the Public Health Ready accreditation recognized planning, preparedness exercises and workforce development performed through 2019. He credited department staff and specifically the employee identified in the meeting materials (transcript variants appear as Andrea/Andrew Befas) for building the dashboard and supporting rapid public updates.
The presentation highlighted examples of departmental services and programs: senior companion and foster grandparent programs (noting pandemic disruptions and alternate virtual approaches), a drive‑through flu clinic at Lone Peak High School used to test mass‑immunization logistics, mosquito abatement efforts (2019 was among higher mosquito years; 2020 counts are down so far), and environmental health services including household hazardous waste collection (cancelled in 2020 due to COVID, with district transfer stations providing limited alternatives).
Clegg discussed disease surveillance, saying chlamydia cases had risen so much that the department could not continue contact‑based trace efforts for chlamydia and shifted resources to address gonorrhea and syphilis, which have more severe outcomes and have since increased. He noted suicide rates had decreased somewhat compared with a few years prior, while chronic‑disease prevention and opioid response remain ongoing concerns that the pandemic has partially overshadowed.
Commissioner Lee thanked Clegg for the report and noted the department's approachable style in public materials. Chair and other commissioners asked one substantive question about other public‑health risks outside COVID; Clegg pointed to opioids, harmful algal blooms on Utah Lake and chronic diseases as ongoing issues. The presentation concluded and the meeting moved to general public comment (none) and a closed session.
What’s next: The department will continue vaccination, disease surveillance and outreach activities and will return to the commission with updates as needed.
