23-04-2025
COVID-19 experience strengthens Countryside Public Health for challenges ahead
Apr. 23---- Five years after the COVID-19 pandemic reached far western Minnesota, the public health agency serving the Upper Minnesota River Valley finds itself in a stronger position than when the pandemic began, but its director is also keeping a keen eye on storm clouds on the horizon.
An infusion of funding brought about by the pandemic — and the opportunity to better assess its role and the needs of its population — has really strengthened the work that Countryside Public Health is doing, according to Liz Auch, its director.
The first case of COVID-19 was recorded on April 19, 2020, in the five counties served by Countryside Public Health:
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It was an "all hands on deck" moment, said Andrea Mills, communications specialist for the agency.
Countryside was as ready as it could be for the new virus, according to Auch. Before retiring and turning over the baton to co-worker Dawn Bjorgan, infectious disease expert Gloria Tobias had been monitoring the virus and its spread in China. She had local staff "practicing and practicing" for the response, Auch explained.
Nationally, there has been some distrust and disconnect about the public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Auch said, but Countryside saw nearly the opposite effect.
In western Minnesota, Countryside realized early its important role as the source of information. It worked to improve its ability to provide the information everyone — from restaurant owners to law enforcement officers — needed.
What made it all work? Auch credits her staff and, importantly, a good track record of working with partners in health care in the region, schools and law enforcement. There were "bumps," but those partners trusted Countryside Public Health and supported it, she said.
The infusion of funding the pandemic triggered allowed Countryside to increase its staffing from 30 to about 32 positions. Importantly, it was able to assess its role, and focus on its key service areas and better align staff members' responsibilities.
New funding that resulted from the opioid crisis and subsequent legal settlement also has allowed Countryside to do more to educate people about substance abuse, as well as equip an educator to bring lessons to classrooms in the five counties.
Despite serving an aging population, five years after the pandemic's start
is seeing a steady creep upward in the number of young families it serves through programs such as the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, often known as WIC.
An emphasis on outreach to serve clients in some of the smallest and relatively remote corners of the rural counties with regular clinics has helped, Auch said.
So did the fact that more people were seeking health information during the pandemic. Countryside leveraged the trust people had in it.
"It gave us an audience that we maybe didn't have before," Mills said. In a fragmented media world, Mills takes advantage of multiple social media platforms, along with traditional newspaper and radio outlets, to reach that audience.
Keeping the attention of its audience in the days ahead may be more important than ever.
"My growing concern as a public health leader right now is we're going to see a rise in infectious diseases," Auch said. She pointed to recent reports of cases of measles and pertussis in the country as reason for concern.
Her agency works to communicate to the public the importance of vaccinations against infectious diseases, and offers clinics and referrals to get people vaccinated. The percentage of children ages 24-35 months who are up-to-date with vaccines in the five Countryside counties ranges from 59.7% in Chippewa to 77.2% in Lac qui Parle, with Big Stone at 64.2%, Swift at 67.4%, and Yellow Medicine at 65.4%. The statewide vaccination rate for that age group is currently 63%. When Auch began her public health career 25 years ago, the statewide rate was over 90%.
Auch pointed out that most young people do not have the firsthand experience of having known polio and other infectious diseases. As a consequence, they may not have a full understanding about the benefits of vaccines.
She also noted there is currently a tension in the public discourse over the right to choose and a social obligation to keep others safe.
Auch said public health has generally been considered underfunded for all of her career. Those concerns are growing today in the midst of federal and state cutbacks to health funding, and it has her attention.
Countryside receives about 28% of its funding from federal sources, 30 to 32% from the state, and 20% from local sources. Private insurance, Medicare and Medical Assistance, licensing fees and charges for services, as well as investment interest and opioid settlement funds, comprise the remainder.
The funding is very much needed in this post-COVID era, as there remain a whole range of public health issues to address, Auch said. Obesity, mental health care for youth, how kids are doing after COVID, kids' resiliency, dental health access, and the numbers of people being injured and killed on the roads due to distracted driving and drinking and other substance use are among some of the concerns she cited.
All the while, Countryside continues to maintain its readiness for the potential of another pandemic.
"Are we better prepared? Sure we're prepared, but tell me what the strain is, its impact and mortality rate," Auch said.
This is no time to let down our guard, or reduce our defenses and ability to respond to a pandemic, she explained. There was a lot to learn and do on the fly once COVID-19 arrived, but Auch said that without a doubt, the lesson of COVID-19 was clear for Countryside. The preparation and practicing paid off.
