Most of Monday’s Garfield County Commissioner (BOCC) meeting went to updates from Human Services and the Public Health Department.

Marion McDonough, regional director of Catholic Charities, reported that more than 872 individuals received emergency assistance last year of which 490 were from Garfield County. More than 200 individuals and families remained in, or obtained, housing. “Housing is tough here,” she said. “Rent is high and there was no shelter this year.” (Glenwood Springs-based Feed My Sheep did not provide an overnight shelter this past winter.) She added that construction of the Benedict Apartments, which will offer 34 senior residences at the corner of 27th and Midland in Glenwood, is ahead of schedule with a possible summer opening. 

Commission Chair Tom Jankovsky said he appreciates what Catholic Charities does locally but complained about how the organization helps migrants who cross the Darién Gap between Colombia and Panama, stating that Catholic Charities helped move 12 million immigrants into the U.S. over four years. “I know that’s a completely different branch but they were one of three NGOs that housed immigrants, moved them forward via buses into our country,” he said. “So now you’re on the other end of that, trying to take care of immigrants who don’t have any means to survive here in this valley.” 

McDonough said the local office has not been actively involved in housing immigrants who come directly to the Roaring Fork Valley, stating that it’s not sustainable for someone who doesn’t have work. She added that many of the migrants who recently came to the area were single males between the ages of 24 and 30. “They are not our priority,” she explained. “So they were not as high on our radar to help move them into housing and to provide them with assistance as other folks [who] have lived and worked here.”

Sharon Longhurst-Pritt, director of the county Department of Human Services, was up next. She said the EFT/EBT disbursements for February were $799,955.02, down from January’s $1,142,732.75. 

A myriad of updates from the “small but mighty” county Public Health Department included the Community Health Services Dental Alliance (CHSDA), the Women, Infants and Children Supplemental Nutrition Program, Cooking Matters, Health Beverage Partnership, vaccines, mosquito control and more. Partners included the Mountain Coalition for Food and Nutrition Security and the Garfield 16 Schools-based Family Resource Center. The team also worked with the Sucide Prevention Coalition of Garfield County, the Regional Opioid Abatement Council, the library district and others. 

Prevention is the name of the CHSDA game. Take, for example, the Smiles for Students program, which brings low-cost dental screenings and care to kindergarten through eighth grade students in the county school districts. “We see about 1,000 kids a year,” said Carrie Godes, county public health specialist. “This year, we’re already at 900 and still have four schools to go.”  Hygienists from dentist offices all the way to Grand Junction contract for part-time work.

Godes explained that the program provided 1,070 exams and 1,100 sealant treatments during the 2023/24 school year. Smiles for Students also offers fluoride varnish treatments. The program is reimbursed at a rate of $47 per student. This care, she said, would have cost $240,000 at a private dentist. 

Garfield County Public Health and Pitkin County provide some funding to CHSDA. Outside funding comes from the state health department, Medicaid and state insurance programs, a sliding fee scale and donations. The Smiles for Students program costs about $168,000.

CHSDA and Garfield County Public Health also participated in silver diamine fluoride research with New York University. Lisa Westhoff, regional dental hygienist with Community Health Services, said that silver diamine fluoride is a pain-free, cost-effective way to treat and prevent cavities, and has been approved for use in the U.S. since 2014. 

The sugary drinks presentation by county nutrition specialists was a little hard to swallow after the tooth care talk. County research shows that consumption of sugar sweetened beverages — or SSBs — are on the rise among students. The American Heart Association says kids consume, on average, 30 gallons of sugary drinks per year —  including soda, coffee drinks and juice. Other than causing tooth decay, one SSB daily increases the risk of heart disease by 33%, diabetes by 25%, obesity by 55% and kidney stones by 23% — and not just for kids. 

That was enough to get Commissioner Perry Will’s attention. “That scared me straight,” he exclaimed at the end of the updates. “I’ve been on a guilt trip since this whole thing started.”

On April 30, the Healthy Beverage Partnership presents “The Impact of Food and Beverage Advertising on Children’s Health” from 10am to 3pm at the Morgridge Commons in Glenwood Springs. Contact csdolan@garfieldcountyco.gov for more information.

All BOCC meetings are available at the county website.