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Public health director outlines WIC growth, new reproductive services and community health priorities
Summary
Public Health presented a 2025 annual update: WIC participation rose to about 197 monthly active participants and $154,560 in WIC benefits were redeemed locally; reproductive-health services served uninsured patients; staff discussed tobacco cessation, chronic-disease screening, co-responder planning and access-to-care coordination.
Public Health staff delivered the department's annual report and led a workshop to identify next priorities from the county's community health assessment. Whitney Horner, WIC dietitian (partner from Summit County), told commissioners WIC averaged about 197 active Grand County participants per month in 2025, up from about 116 in 2021. Horner said $154,560 in WIC benefits were redeemed at local grocery stores and that about 34% of WIC dollars redeemed were spent on fruits and vegetables. The program also launched Baby Cafe pop-up lactation-support gatherings and the Grow to Share greenhouse-produce distribution that paired fresh produce with one-on-one nutrition coaching.
Public health reported reproductive-health services launched in January 2025, providing STI screening, birth-control consultations and cervical-cancer screening. The department served 78 unique patients in 2025; staff said 61% of those patients had no insurance and 76% were at or below the federal poverty line. The department partnered with Mountain Family Center to cover lab costs when patients lacked insurance.
Environmental health reported 171 restaurant inspections, numerous plan reviews and 51 water samples; staff distributed radon test kits and ran certified food-manager training classes in English and Spanish. Senior services and home-care programs reported increased participation in meal and voucher programs; the department also distributed child-safety devices and hosted bilingual CPR/first-aid training funded through child-fatality-prevention grants.
In a workshop discussion, staff and commissioners explored policy and program options: strengthened tobacco policy and vendor licensing, chronic-disease screening grants (A1c and blood-pressure checks), sustainable co-responder funding for behavioral-health response, senior-nutrition evidence-based programming, and better public outreach on available services. Commissioners asked for follow-up data (for example, chest-pain ED visits and cardiovascular outcomes) and recommended that public health prioritize sustainable, long-term programs rather than short-term, grant-driven pilots.
