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Public-health director warns rising personal-care needs, asks Humboldt County for $20,000 gap funding
Summary
Humboldt County's public-health director told supervisors that demand for in-home and personal-care services is outpacing competitive Elderbridge grants and asked the board to consider a one-time $20,000 county contribution to cover unmet needs; she also confirmed Narcan distribution and announced a May 12 mass-casualty exercise.
The Humboldt County Director of Public Health told the Board of Supervisors that demand for in-home personal-care services is growing and the county's grant funding is inadequate to meet current needs. The director said Elderbridge awarded $6,500 to the county for personal-care services in 2024, up from $5,000 the prior year, but that those competitive funds were exhausted early and left residents without bathing and hygiene help.
"Last year we ran out of our funding in May," the director said, citing a recent month in which 15 people were unable to receive showering assistance and a later month when 26 people lacked basic bathing help. She said county home-care and personal-care clients include people on Medicaid waivers (elderly, disability, brain-injury waivers) and that not all recipients are Medicare-eligible.
The director said Humboldt County provided 711 personal-care visits in 2022 and 1,333 visits last year, and that home-care new-client counts changed from 53 to 34 in the most recent year. She asked the board to consider an additional $20,000 in county support to cover the current gap and directly support residents who otherwise go without basic personal-care services.
The director also reviewed the agency's broader responsibilities (disease surveillance, immunization audits with schools and daycares, CPR training, and stigma-reduction mental-health efforts) and noted measles planning remains active because of declining vaccination coverage.
On overdose response, the director confirmed Humboldt County Public Health is an official Narcan distribution site and can order naloxone from the state at no cost, provided basic tracking. County members discussed coordinating Narcan placement in squad cars and agreed to follow up on logistics and any reporting tied to opioid-funded programs.
She also announced a full-scale mass-casualty exercise at the fairgrounds on May 12 to test hospital surge and emergency response procedures.
The board did not take an immediate funding vote at the meeting; supervisors asked staff to return with details on how additional county funds would be tracked and reported, and what stipulations (prevention, treatment or recovery) might be required by grant or opioid-fund accounting.
