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Ouray County approves MOU with Telluride Foundation for community health needs assessment; public health details flu, measles and WIC data
Summary
The Board of County Commissioners authorized an MOU with the Telluride Foundation to fund a county-focused community health needs assessment tied to an EMS-driven community paramedicine project. Public health director Kristen Kelly reported a January flu spike, one 2026 measles case (travel-related), and WIC caseload counts.
The Ouray County Board of County Commissioners on Feb. 10 authorized a memorandum of understanding with the Telluride Foundation to fund a community health needs assessment (CHNA) that county staff say will guide a community paramedicine program and other local public health efforts.
Kristen Kelly, Ouray County public health director, told the board the CHNA will be driven by local data and staffed in part by four master's public-health students. Kelly said the project will connect the county with Tri-County Health Network and other partners and that the survey cannot begin until the county is admitted to a network where the survey instruments will be available.
"This is going to be our hometown county assessment," Kelly said, adding that Ouray County is often omitted from regional datasets because of its small size and that primary local data will help identify unmet needs.
Kelly reviewed current communicable-disease signals, saying statewide dashboards showed a large January spike in influenza that is now receding and that local school absenteeism tied to respiratory illnesses has started to fall. She said county wastewater sampling is valuable but limited by sampling frequency and methodology and that the county is coordinating with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment to better interpret results.
Kelly also noted Colorado recorded 36 measles cases in 2025 and described the county's first confirmed 2026 case as an unvaccinated elementary-school–aged child who traveled out of state; public-health investigators do not believe exposures occurred in Ouray County. Kelly urged residents to ensure MMR vaccination prior to travel.
On supportive services, Kelly said the WIC program served 28 families in Ouray and 45 in neighboring San Miguel County as of mid-January and described a small county family-wellness program that helps households who do not meet federal WIC income limits.
The board approved the Telluride Foundation MOU and authorized the chair to sign the document. Commissioners asked staff to coordinate the CHNA timeline with the Ridgeway/Ouray survey efforts under discussion earlier on the agenda to avoid duplicative surveys.
The county public health office is planning public outreach and will post project materials and updates on the county website as details become available.
