Commissioner Craig Lehman: Lancaster County health department 'needed more than ever'

Lancaster County needs a public health department to avoid the delays in emergency response experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic, Commissioner Craig Lehman said at a news conference Friday.

“A county public health department is needed now more than ever,” said Lehman, a Democrat, noting that the county has federal funds to help with start-up costs.

The county also could seek state and federal grants that health departments, such as in neighboring Chester County, receive.

Republican commissioners Josh Parsons and Ray D’Agostino didn’t endorse Lehman’s proposal, but expressed openness to a discussion.

D'Agostino said changing Pennsylvania's 1955 law creating local health departments could enhance a county's response to emergencies. Parsons said a state Health Department working more collaboratively with counties, particularly in providing data, would have been helpful.

Early in the pandemic, Lancaster Mayor Danene Sorace lamented the lack of a city public health department. York City has a department and began contact tracing when its first resident tested positive.

Lehman said federal funds allowed the county to hire a public health emergency adviser and to contract with Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health to provide countywide testing and contact tracing.

But it took time to get those efforts going, Lehman said. The hospital’s robust contact tracing effort, for example, began only a week ago.

“In my opinion, having permanent public health infrastructure prior to this pandemic emergency would have enhanced our advance readiness and it could have improved the timing of our response,” Lehman said.

He said the state Health Department can be faulted for issues related to data, responsiveness and transparency.

"However, advanced readiness and more local control (through a county health department) could have addressed all of these concerns," he said. "Without a county public health department, we struggled to get information that could have helped inform our local response."

Lancaster County officially remains in the most restrictive "red" part of Gov. Tom Wolf’s reopening plan until Friday, June 5, when it will be in the last group of counties to move to the less restrictive "yellow" phase.

Republican leaders have spent a month calling for the county to move to yellow, and last week Lehman joined them.

Also at Friday’s news conference on COVID-19, U.S. Rep. Lloyd Smucker reported that the House passed a bill easing restrictions on the Paycheck Protection Program, which is aiding many small businesses.

Smucker, as he has for weeks, also faulted Wolf for refusing to heed the call of many Lancaster County officials and allow more non-essential businesses to reopen if they can do so safely.

He said David Stoudt, owner of The General Sutter Inn and Bulls Head Public House in Lititz, informed him that the survival of his popular establishment is 50-50.

Stoudt has a plan for operating safely, "but it will be all for naught if they can’t reopen or if they have too many restraints when they do open," Smucker said.

"For many people, their patience and willingness to comply (with the governor's directive) has run out," he said.

The General Sutter Inn and Bulls Head announced Friday that it will reopen June 5 for takeout and limited outdoor dining.

In other remarks, Dr. Pamela Taffera of WellSpan Ephrata Community Hospital, said the health system is taking a phased approach to restarting services that were temporarily stopped, and urged people not to delay seeking care, especially if they have chronic conditions.

"We are a safe place for you to come," she said.

She also stressed the importance of mental health care and the need for precautions to continue as Lancaster County heads toward reopening.

Edwin Hurston, the county's public health emergency adviser, gave an update on efforts to help beseiged nursing homes by paying for disinfecting, consultant services, one-time testing of residents and staff, and personal protective equipment.

He said 14 nursing homes have so far received disinfecting services, and four have gotten confidential reviews of infection control practices.

Staff writer Heather Stauffer contributed to this story.

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