Eagle County Public Health Director Heath Harmon added to governor’s advisory committee on COVID-19

Eagle County on Wednesday pushed out a press release from the state announcing, in part, that Eagle County Public Health Director Heath Harmon has been named to a governor’s advisory committee on COVID-19 policy. Here’s that press release:

Governor Polis Provides Update on Colorado Response to COVID-19 

DENVER – Gov. Polis today provided an update on Colorado’s response to COVID-19.

“During Safer at Home, Coloradans doing their part will be the key to our shared success in protecting our health and the health of our communities. I’m so proud of how our state responded during the Stay-at-Home order, and it’s going to take that same dedication during these next few weeks. That’s why we’re going to be working closely with local officials and community leaders to ensure Coloradans understand Safer at Home requirements and are able to keep themselves and their neighbors safe,” said Gov. Polis. “I’m also excited to be sharing more data with Coloradans about where you can find community testing sites near home.” 

In creating the Safer at Home order, Gov. Polis and the administration did extensive outreach, holding a series of webinars with different industries and stakeholders to discuss what this next phase will mean for them. Outreach included almost 3,000 representatives from:

Retail Associations, Personal Services, General Commerce and Chambers, Health care and hospitals, Post-secondary education, Child Care, Local Governments and Real Estate.

Gov. Polis also announced the membership of the Governor’s Advisory Committee for Cooperation and Implementation, which he announced last week. This Committee will advise the Governor and CDPHE on policies and regulations that are designed to maximize social distancing at the local level. It will also be focused on how local governments, and local public health can coordinate with the state on educating the public about these regulations, and maximizing compliance and enforcement efforts during the COVID-19 crisis.

A key emphasis of this Committee will be on compliance and how local governments and the state can best work together to ensure Coloradans are following Safer at Home rules and protecting their health and safety. Membership includes:

-County Commissioner over 250K- Steve Johnson, Larimer County
-County Commissioner under 250K- Hilary Cooper, San Miguel County
-Mayor over 100K- Nick Gradisar, Pueblo
-Mayor under 100K- Barbara Bynum, Montrose
-Local Public Health over 100K- Robert McDonald, City and County of Denver
-Local Public Health under 100K- Heath Harmon, Eagle
-Sheriff- Jeffery Shrader, Jefferson County
-Police Chief- Gary Creager, Broomfield
-Fire Chief- Thomas DeMint, Poudre Fire Department
-One Representative of the Economic Recovery and Stabilization Council- Kyle Martinez, Olathe

They will join the following state officials on the council:

-Governor’s Chief of Staff, Lisa Kaufmann
-Executive Director of Department of Public Safety, Stan Hilkey
-Executive Director of Department of Public Health and Environment, Jill Ryan
-Executive Director of Department of Regulatory Agencies, Patty Salazar

Gov. Polis today also unveiled a new interactive map of community-based testing sites that local public health departments have set up across the state. The state has been providing guidance and supplies to help local public health agencies stand up these testing sites, which are especially important in rural areas of the state where private providers are limited in number and capacity.

There are currently 20 sites listed and this tool will be updated as more are brought online. The community-based testing sites are filling in the gap for underserved communities outside the main metro regions, but they are not the only way to get tested. There are many private providers that are doing testing, particularly at hospitals and clinics along the Front Range. The state is working to compile and verify information on these private testing sites to add to the map.