Barbara Miller appointed to Hospital Commission

DAYTON-The Columbia County Health System (CCHS) Board appointed Barbara Miller as interim board member during the regular meeting on May 26.

Miller will fill the vacancy previously held by the late Wes Leid, who served on the Board for about six years. Miller is a resident of Waitsburg and has been serving on the finance committee for which the Board is seeking to find a replacement by someone not on the Board. She has filed to seek election to the seat.

Director of Nursing, Katie Roughton presented an update on the Booker residents and the COVID cases and protocols. CEO, Shane McGuire contributed to say, "You can't look at the nursing home outbreak and say that three out of the five were vaccinated and so vaccines don't work. The vaccine is not a bullet proof vest. It can't always prevent you from getting it, but mostly if you get it, the chances of being hospitalized are reduced by 85%. It's likely to not fade. We really want to encourage people to get vaccinated and discourage conversations that vaccines don't work."

One of the three fully vaccinated cases, he reported did not show any symptoms despite having co-morbidities and thought the vaccine played a part in that. Board member Jim Kime questioned about mandating vaccinations for the residents to which Roughton replied that it is not within their right to do so. They can mandate testing before admitting new residents and regular testing thereafter, but that is all.

Roughton pointed out that the lockdown for Booker resulting from the positive COVID cases can be lifted after 28 days without new cases. "I have contacted other long term care facilities and they say if you can contain it past your first initial (outbreak), you're more successful than if you didn't do it at all. No other nursing homes have been able to do that. So, this is the newest driving force for the staff who has worked so hard."

McGuire said twenty three percent of Columbia County has been vaccinated and 1541 single doses have been administered with 1591 people being fully vaccinated. He added CCHS and Columbia County Public Health would like to see the numbers be higher and that public awareness efforts will be increased to try to get more people in.

Vaccines are now being administered at the Public Health office except for pop-up clinics like the one held at the school last week where 25 people were vaccinated.