Pacific County Public Health & Human Services (PCHHS) department released its COVID-19 Pandemic Response After Action Review Oct. 7 detailing and evaluating the effort of the county in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Washington Department of Health instructed the county to conduct the review, which covers events from March 2020 to May 1, 2022, although the county is currently still conducting COVID mitigation efforts.
The review, prepared by PCHHS epidemiologist Connor Montgomery, summarizes COVID infection statistics, when and where outbreaks occurred, how the pandemic affected different demographics and the county’s ability to roll out testing, vaccinations and social services.
“(The review) is really looking at the efforts by Pacific County Public Health & Human Services as well as our community partners in the COVID-19 response to evaluate if there were any strengths we could highlight or opportunities and areas for improvement moving forward,” Pacific County Health & Human Services Deputy Director Gracie Minks.
Minks highlighted the quick response of the entire Pacific County community and held up the health department staff in its ability to adapt to the pandemic quickly.
“I want to give a big shout out to the Pacific County Public Health & Human Services staff as well, because they were the ones doing things they didn’t expect to be doing,” Minks said.
As of May 1 in Pacific County, there were 3,859 reported cases of COVID-19 with 164 hospitalizations and 55 deaths. The review acknowledges that the number of reported cases is probably an undercount because of a lack of reporting.
Much of the disease’s spread happened during outbreaks — two or more positive cases in a shared location within 14 days of each other, as defined by the state health department. In Pacific County, the most outbreaks occurred in long-term care facilities, followed by businesses and agricultural settings, like canneries and processing facilities according to the review.
One of the first Pacific County outbreaks, the review states, began when a Pacific County resident who worked at a facility in Oregon contracted the virus at work and brought it across state lines. The review states a lag in communication between states — one area for improvement — prevented the county from containing the outbreak before it started.
The county also stumbled in communication about treatment options. According to the review, survey results showed only 45% of surveyed individuals reported knowing how to access COVID treatments.
But the county succeeded in identifying people who had the virus, an effective means of controlling spread, partially due to the community collaboration Minks emphasized. The review cites help from other county departments, healthcare providers, schools, city officials, pharmacies, tribal leaders and many others who helped set up testing clinics and deliver at-home tests.
Those groups also established shared vaccine clinics once they became available.
“It was really all hands on deck for the county,” Minks said. “One of the nice things about being in a smaller area is that it feels a bit more community-oriented.”
The Washington State Department of Health has reported 1,825,852 COVID-19 cases in the state and 14,353 COVID-19 related deaths, as of Oct.11.
Contact reporter Clayton Franke at 406-552-3917 or clayton.franke@thedailyworld.com.
