Churchill County is requesting $1.6 million in American Rescue Plan Act (APRA) funds from the State of Nevada Interim Finance Committee for a building to house the Central Nevada Health District which will serve rural health needs in Churchill, Pershing, Eureka, and Mineral Counties.
Social Services Director Shannon Ernst reported to the Board of Health at their regular, monthly meeting this week on her work toward establishing a local Health District for Churchill County. Members of each community have been meeting since January to put in place the structure of the district that is functioning under a two-year, $2 million grant through the University of Nevada that was awarded last year.
Ernst said at the meeting that the health district members will be presenting a report to the IFC on August 17 and will include their operational plan, budget, and request for the building funding. The building is planned to be located at the current location of the vaccine/testing POD off Miners Road.
The process to develop the health district has been a lengthy one, with the leadership team beginning to meet monthly beginning last January. Ernst said in February the leaders discussed what funds are currently going to each community and how those would be brought under the health district. She said the state has been very good about looking to reallocate those monies. In March the group made an update to the State Board of Health and anticipates having all the materials in for the State Board to approve in December.
In April the group began developing the organizational chart and realized that based on the services needed in small communities, many of the duties will be able to be performed by one person in each community.
In May they submitted a letter to the Governor’s office for approval and started working on county ordinances. “When the letter was sent there really were no comments,” said Ernst, “just complete support.”
During the July meeting, leadership began drafting a budget.
Hiring will begin in 2023, as well as purchasing the environment health software modules and applying for an Employer Identification Number. There are some questions to be answered on the EIN application process and the committee will be consulting with the District Attorney’s office on the answers.
Currently, in Nevada, there is a health district in Washoe County and Clark County, based on population. Additionally, there is a Quad County district that includes Carson, Douglas, Storey, and Lyon, and the rest of the counties have fallen under state jurisdiction until the development of this new district.
The Central Nevada District will include two members from each community, assigned by their County Commissioners. There will also be a medical director, district health officer, fiscal agent, and legal services.
Services provided to local communities include public health preparedness and communicable disease, epidemiology, and a public health laboratory. The lab is a State of Nevada Laboratory under the University of Nevada School of Medicine and would be a satellite lab. Environmental Health would provide permits, planning, and review as well as food safety. The health district would also provide Public Health Nursing, Health and Disease Prevention, and Access to Care.
In other business, Ernst made a report about the COVID response by Churchill County, providing vaccine and testing data. Since May of 2020, there have been a total of 7,050 reported cases of the virus, 6,925 people have reportedly recovered, and 117 have died. On August 4, there were 8 active cases.
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