My Take: Cutting health dept funding will negatively impact all of us
“On April 25, 2014, the City of Flint, Michigan, changed their municipal water supply source from the Detroit-supplied Lake Huron water to the Flint River. The switch caused water distribution pipes to corrode and leach lead and other contaminants into municipal drinking water.” (see Centers for Disease Control Report).
Why was the decision made to change from Detroit-supplied water to the Flint River? Public officials sacrificed community health and safety for budgetary, cost-cutting reasons — with no thought given to the short-term or long-term consequences of their actions on the public, particularly on the most vulnerable, children and the elderly.
We all should consider the potential long-term effects of significantly cutting the budget for public health in Ottawa County. Do we want to wake up in a few years, realizing that severe cuts in public health services adversely affected the health of Ottawa County? Are we in danger of becoming another Flint?
As we see the direction the Ottawa County Commissioners are giving, through the county administrator, for the Ottawa County Department of Public Health (OCDPH) budget, we should consider whether the statements to reduce the OCDPH budget makes sense, both in the way the budget is being developed and in the potential for severely limiting public health resources.
I was an auto industry executive for over 25 years — with four different Fortune 50 companies. I cannot tell you how many budgets I developed. These budgets were based on addressing the organization’s priorities and needs, and ensuring that the groups entrusted with delivering the results supported the budgets. This does not seem to be the current case with the proposed OCDPH budget.
Lakeshore Ethnic Diversity Alliance (LEDA) works to dismantle barriers to ensure people of all ethnic backgrounds have equal access and opportunity to participate fully in the life of the community. As executive director of LEDA, I always consider how everyone in our communities can enjoy and be a part of their communities. By severely limiting public health resources, not everyone will be ensured to live in a healthy community.
I leave you with the following statement from Michigan’s Guide to Public Health for Local Governing Entities: Public Health Information and Resources for County Commissioners, Boards of Health, and City Councils: “Protecting your jurisdiction from environmental and biological threats to preserve the American way of life is something we can all get behind. Your constituents are depending on you to provide your local health department with the resources that it needs to protect the population.”
— Gloria Lara is executive director of Holland-based Lakeshore Ethnic Diversity Alliance. She also serves as a Commissioner on the Michigan Civil Rights Commission and has her MBA from Harvard Business School.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: My Take: Cutting health dept funding will negatively impact all of us
