ADAMS COUNTY, Colo. — Adams County is just months away from launching a brand new, first-time county health department. On Thursday, the department picked its new leader.
The Adams County Board of Health appointed Dr. Kelly Weidenbach as executive director of the new Adams County Health Department, which takes over services from Tri-County Health Department on Jan. 1, 2023.
Weidenbach previously served as transition director as Adams County built its new health department.
“I’ve been involved in just about every single step,” Weidenbach said Thursday, after the appointment. “Recruiting staff, creating budget, approving locations, walking board of commissioners through various programs and services, and getting those approved. I’ve been leading those efforts so it’s a natural next step for me to take on that executive director role.”
For decades, the Tri-County Health Department served Adams, Arapahoe and Douglas Counties. During the pandemic, Douglas County moved to withdraw after disagreements over mask mandates and vaccines, and create its own health department.
Adams County later followed, with county leaders saying “Douglas County’s decision left us no choice but to reevaluate the future of public health services in Adams County.”
Arapahoe County was the last to declare its intention to leave. All three counties have been building out their new county health departments.
Weidenbach comes to Adams County with a public health background. She is an epidemiologist-turned-administrator, with a doctorate in public health, policy and management. She led the county health department in Casper, Wyoming for several years, and was part of the leadership team at Tri-County Health before it moved to dissolve.
When asked how her department will handle future situations, like what happened during the pandemic, where public health departments had to consider sometimes controversial public health mandates or orders recommended by the state or feds, Weidenbach said it depends.
“I think it depends on situation. We’ll need to understand community dynamics. If it's an infectious disease, for example, like COVID, really understanding how the community is being impacted – and what’s in the best interest of the community,” she said. “Its really my role to understand best interest for community. When public health orders may or may not be the right solution.”
Weidenbach will report to the Adams County Board of Health, which has five members. All five either have professional healthcare backgrounds, or have worked within public safety or community health. None of them are county commissioners - unlike some of the current board members at the new health departments in Douglas County and Arapahoe County.
“It was important to our commissioners that [the Board of Health] represent the community, that we’re elevating voices from our community, and that were trying to minimize the politicization of public health through that Board of Health,” Weidenbach said.
Weidenbach said one of the department’s top priorities will be achieving health equity. According to a press release from the county, Adams County has a “minority majority” (about 51%) population.
“We often talk about raising the voices of communities and populations that may have been historically undervalued, underrepresented, and who experience adverse or disproportionate outcomes,” Weidenbach said in an emailed statement.
“We will also be really looking around recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic - looking at places where the community may have lost traction on important health issues such as mental health, substance abuse, and physical and mental well-being.”
The county listed several services that will be available to the community, including:
- Immunizations
- Chronic disease prevention
- WIC
- Nurse home visits
- Increased testing for monkeypox
- Sexual health resources
- Family planning
Weidenbach’s new team is busy getting ready for the Jan. 1 takeover. She said about 70% of the 175 staff positions have been filled, and they're nearly finished hiring the leadership team.
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