Douglas County formally splits from Tri-County Health, names candidates for new health board

Douglas County leaders connected Tuesday officially parted ways with the Tri-County Health Department, pursuing months of struggle betwixt the blimpish county and Colorado’s largest nationalist wellness bureau implicit COVID-19 wellness directives and restrictions.

The ballot by the region commissioners successful favour of the solution was unanimous and expected, fixed their wide volition past week to sever ties with Tri-County aft 55 years. The wellness agency, which serves 1.5 cardinal radical crossed Arapahoe, Adams and Douglas counties, voted past period to extremity the quality of its subordinate counties to opt-out of its wellness orders.

“Today is astir section power implicit nationalist wellness orders,” Commissioner Abe Laydon said.

The commissioners earlier successful the time named imaginable members of a aboriginal committee of wellness for Douglas County, a determination that is scheduled to beryllium formalized connected Sept. 14. Those 5 members are 2 of the 3 commissioners — Lora Thomas and George Teal — arsenic good arsenic Dr. Linda Fielding, Kim Muramoto and Doug Benevento.

Fielding and Muramoto presently service arsenic committee of wellness members for Tri-County, some representing Douglas County. Benevento was the caput of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment from 2002 to 2010, and was lawman head for the Environmental Protection Agency nether President Trump.

Douglas County’s determination Tuesday was preceded by an hr of nationalist comment, with immoderate residents wondering whether the region was being fiscally responsible. The region pays $2.5 cardinal to Tri-County annually and respective residents asked whether Douglas County would beryllium capable to supply the aforesaid level of work for a comparable price.

Residents backing the determination said they had grown bushed of heavy-handed wellness orders coming from Tri-County, particularly its request that kids 2 and older deterioration masks successful school. They pointed to the information that determination are nary existent pediatric hospitalizations successful Douglas County for COVID-19 arsenic grounds that Tri-County was utilizing a one-size-fits-all attack to pandemic control.

“Our kids are the slightest susceptible to this illness and someway they are the astir punished,” said Lisa Trietley, a Castle Rock mother.