State of the County focuses on community resilience during pandemic

The past year has been unprecedented for Clark County, though in an official address the county’s elected head said that resilience helps in its response to a global pandemic.

During a remote “State of the County” address released April 6, Clark County Council Chair Eileen Quiring O’Brien noted a number of hardships county residents and local businesses have faced since the COVID-19 pandemic first made an appearance in the area in March 2020.

“Our neighbors have lost jobs. They’ve struggled teaching their children with online formats, and children have also struggled with no in-person classes,” Quiring O’Brien said. “Some in our community have lost loved ones to this virus.”

Quiring O’Brien acknowledged the event had to be conducted remotely due to existing orders from Gov. Jay Inslee about in-person gatherings. The COVID-19 pandemic was the chief topic of the event, with the council chair saying that though the county has been “tested and tried” by the pandemic, “the Clark County community is resilient.”

“It’s been inspiring and uplifting to see so many residents reaching out to help one another during these tumultuous times,” Quiring O’Brien said, recognizing work from first responders and health care workers in the county for the past year’s work.

She also turned recognition toward Clark County Public Health, the county department most involved with the pandemic and the county’s response, thanking department director and Clark County Health Officer Alan Melnick for his leadership over the past year.

Quiring O’Brien pointed to some of the public health department’s work, which included  thousands of contact tracing interviews, administration of some $700,000 in assistance for quarantined individuals and families, and distribution of CARES Act funding to roughly 700 food establishments to implement safety measures. Other work included the opening of mass testing and vaccination sites at Tower Mall in Vancouver with the help of that city and the Clark Regional Emergency Services Agency, among others.

Quiring O’Brien also mentioned that Clark County Community Services provided assistance during the pandemic, working with the public health department to operate a quarantine shelter for individuals experiencing homelessness, as well as providing more than $8 million in rental assistance to more than 1,700 households in the county, and more than $1 million in grants and loans to some 220 businesses, including those owned by people of color, women, and veterans.   

“And they’re not done yet,” Quiring O’Brien added, saying that Clark County Community Services was preparing to distribute another $30 million in federal funding in pandemic relief assistance.

“Every single department and program had to suddenly adapt how they do business and develop creative solutions to these difficult times,” Quiring O’Brien remarked, adding that some of those changes in practice will help the county work more efficiently moving forward in a post-pandemic world.

“This is an example of how overcoming adversity leads to innovation,” Quiring O’Brien remarked.

Quiring O’Brien thanked volunteer-based aspects of county government for their work during the pandemic. She mentioned specifically the Clark County Commission on Aging, which adjusted its yearly focus on a particular issue to the effects the pandemic had on local seniors, ranging from the availability of resources to the effect of isolation.

The council chair added the county has worked with other local agencies and organizations to provide pandemic assistance, like the Columbia River Economic Development Council, Clark Public Utilities, and the Greater Vancouver Chamber of Commerce.

At the start of the pandemic the county had “great uncertainty” over its effects on county operations, particularly on revenues, Quiring O’Brien said. She explained the county implemented a number of initiatives, which included a hiring freeze, eliminating “non-essential spending and overtime when possible,” and pausing some projects out of the county’s general fund. 

The council chair said those actions, as well as relief funds, allowed the county to stay within budget for 2020 and deliver a balanced one for 2021 as well.

While the county continues to recover from COVID-19, Quiring O’Brien stressed the importance of supporting local businesses, stating that “together we can get our neighbors back to work, back in business, and boost our local economy.”

“Our community’s resilient character ensures that we will see better days ahead for all of us,” she said.

Health director honored by county neighborhood association

Public Health Director Melnick received more than just recognition from Quiring O’Brien during the remote event, as he was awarded the Outstanding Clark County Employee Award for 2020.

Neighborhood Associations Council of Clark County Chair Stephan Abramson said that usually the recognition was presented to a county employee outside of public view, but that the 2020 award was an exception given that Melnick was “the public personification of the county’s efforts to contain and protect its citizens from the perils of the coronavirus pandemic.”

Abramson said that when Melnick was first contacted about receiving the award, the health director would only accept it on behalf of the entirety of Clark County Public Health.

“While it’s a great honor for me, this was an incredible effort by a large number of folks and partners,” Melnick remarked, mentioning volunteers, the county’s incident management team, and public health staff. 

Mentioning that Melnick began work at the county in 2006, Abramson said that Melnick had prior experience with an outbreak, leading the department as it faced dozens of measles cases in early 2019.

“The magnitude of the current pandemic, of course, dwarfs what Dr. Melnick’s department faced in 2019,” Abramson remarked, noting more than 19,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases and more than 230 deaths had been recorded by Melnick’s department since the county’s outbreak began more than a year ago.

Abramson noted Melnick’s job involves coordinating with a host of agencies and groups, both in and outside of county government. Melnick said in some cases staff would work on pandemic response while handling their usual day-to-day work

“Other diseases don’t take a holiday just because of COVID-19,” Melnick said.