Lackawanna County health department concept advancing

Apr. 30—Lackawanna County has state approval to move forward with planning a potential county health department — an idea catalyzed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Commissioners requested a certificate of approval in March to proceed with establishing a department under state Act 315, the Local Health Administration Law. The request followed preliminary planning by county Human Services Director William Browning in conjunction with the county-affiliated nonprofit Center for Health and Human Services Research and Action. Browning and the nonprofit have worked since last year to advance the local health department concept.

In requesting the approval, officials furnished the state with a proposed, preliminary county health plan and health assessment that they'll continue to fine tune.

State acting Secretary of Health Alison Beam granted the certificate of approval in late March, the first formal step in a process that could eventually see Lackawanna County become the seventh in Pennsylvania to maintain its own health department. The others are Allegheny, Erie, Bucks, Chester, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties.

"Experience has shown that county government, which understands the needs of local residents, is best ... suited to provide comprehensive local public health services," Beam wrote in a letter constituting the certificate of approval. "The Pennsylvania Department of Health will continue to extend any technical assistance that you may need with your planning activities."

Officials are pursuing a concept where a county health department would work closely and collaboratively with the existing county Human Services Department and the various offices under its umbrella, Browning said. The two departments would have distinct structures and functions, but share data and resources and work in concert with each other to address physical, behavioral and other health needs of county residents, including at-risk populations, he said.

State technical assistance during the planning process should help the county determine the scope of a potential health department's responsibilities, staffing needs and annual costs, Browning said. Generally speaking, the department would be responsible for communicable disease control and health education efforts, health and environmental inspections, data analysis, preventive health services and other duties aimed at preventing illness, responding effectively to public health events and promoting healthy lifestyles, he said.

The county will also explore whether a portion of the estimated $40.66 million in federal relief funding it's due under President Joe Biden's American Rescue Plan can be used to defray costs associated with starting a department, Chief of Staff Brian Jeffers said. If permitted, Jeffers said that would better enable the county to factor annual health department costs into future budgets.

While the state and federal governments do provide funding for local health departments, the county would bear a share of the cost. What it would have to budget annually to sustain a health department is unclear, but officials stressed they aren't rushing into anything.

"We want to make sure that we're proceeding cautiously and taking everything into consideration," Browning said. "We really want to make sure this is a well-structured, well-staffed, professional organization."

It's also unclear if or when a county health department would become operational, but Jeffers and Browning said commissioners could vote to authorize a department and select a five-member board of health as early as this year. The board of health, which must include at least two physicians, would then appoint a county health director subject to the approval of the state health secretary.

The processes of developing a department budget, appropriating funds and hiring mandated staff would follow. The state health secretary ultimately determines when a proposed county health department is ready to exercise its powers and duties, according to Act 315.

In Lackawanna County's case, that could be years from now, but Browning said there are potential benefits to be realized in the intervening time.

The Human Services Department is working to hire an epidemiologist that would begin in human services and ultimately serve in a health department if one is established, he said. Officials could also begin collecting and analyzing local data and developing potential programming during the planning process.

"The reality of it is that we can start planning the long-term success of the department," Jeffers said.

Contact the writer: jhorvath@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9141; @jhorvathTT on Twitter.