Aitkin County introduces public health educator focusing on emergency preparedness and mental-health outreach

Ivan Bartha, Aitkin County’s new public health educator, said emergency preparedness, rural-response planning and mental-health outreach will be central to his work as he begins his role with the county’s Health and Human Services department.

Bartha, who described his background in outdoor recreation, education and risk management, said "a big part of my job is emergency preparedness in the county," emphasizing risk management as a core function. He said his experience running outdoor programs during the COVID era taught protocols that transfer to public-health planning.

"Everything is between 30 and 60 minutes away from each other," Bartha said, describing how the county’s dispersed, rural geography complicates emergency response and requires attention to micro-local needs. He added that winter hazards such as frozen pipes and stalled vehicles and the spring severe-weather season are ongoing public-health concerns in Central Minnesota.

Bartha said he oversees the Committee for Awareness and Prevention of Suicide (CAPS), which helps organize outreach events including a "stay, run, walk, rally" during Riverboat Days and senior-wellness yard-sign programs for graduates. On communications, he said the department aims to "package" accurate information so residents respond to it, noting recent changes in guidance around childhood immunizations and food-safety practices.

Host Mark closed the conversation by inviting Bartha to return with updates as he settles into the job. Bartha said his overarching goal is a "healthy community" that supports people so they are "happy, healthy, and whole."