Western Strategies and Jay Fawcett kicking into gear

Health Department crucial to food safety

The news story, “Inspections scarce; complaints double,” in the Jan. 18 Gazette was a general call to define what we are willing to pay the El Paso County Department of Health and Environment to provide versus the trade-off in risk to our health. Here is a clear example of a sensible mandate that is not currently being funded at a level that keeps pace with an increasing population base.

Since few Americans grow their own food, the entire food system puts us at risk as a community. We can quantify complaints, compare existing mandates, consider the community food delivery system, and decide on the appropriate number of inspectors. This straightforward exercise will determine where tax dollars go and what they do.

We rely on the county Department of Health and Environment to be responsive to problems such as pandemic outbreaks, to provide health education and to track the occurrence of communicable diseases. We have established these tasks based on the lessons learned through history and the deaths that result when they are ignored. This is not a scare tactic, but rather a reality.

In evaluating the current state of the health care infrastructure of Colorado Springs and El Paso County, the Western Strategies Center has outlined some courses of action that address this challenge as well as others. The formal presentation of this study to the community will be at noon on Wednesday in the Carnegie Room of the Penrose Library.

Jay Fawcett

President & CEO
Western Strategies Center

Jay Fawcett is proving his intelligence and citizenship by the day. Thanks, Jay!