A West Ottawa junior stops running in gym class, heaving. Rummaging through her backpack she searches for her inhaler. Immediately the panicked breathing turns into calm breaths. If not for the county health department, she wouldn’t be able to afford that inhaler.
Currently, the Ottawa County Health Department is undergoing budget cuts that will certainly hurt students here at West Ottawa Public Schools. On October 1, the Ottawa County Health Department (OCHD) will be facing huge cuts in budgets. The financial estimate ranges from $6.6 million dollars to $2.2. This is almost a 65% decrease in money where people need it most. But, why are these budget cuts happening?
One man, county commissioner Joe Moss, believes that the OCHD is spending a lot of money on the public health department. Moss believes this high funding is causing employees of the OCHD to interfere with schools and threaten schools’ parents and administrators.
Family Nurse Practitioner Jennifer Solis said, “Many of my patients were trying to get immunizations but because of these proposed budget cuts the health department is denying those free immunizations”. These cuts will cause 13 of the 16 health department programs that Ottawa County provides to lose funding. Such cust Jeopardize the community that relies on those health services. But why do these things matter?
Real people, friends, family, peers and so many others in our community are already struggling. “Students that come to WO need some sort of vaccinations, the health department helps students get them for free,” West Ottawa school counselor Lacy Otteman said, “They (OCHD) also have huge benefits providing reproductive health for families, food sources, and basic needs.” The OCHD also provides resources for West Ottawa students such as dental care and dental health services like Miles of Smiles (free dental care for those who can’t afford it). Many students at West Ottawa haven’t had health care services because of the cost. In fact, nearly 8.6% of people in Ottawa County haven’t ever been to the doctor.
“Ottawa County is a growing county. We have more people they need to take care of and more people who need services. OCHD’s budget should be growing, not shrinking,” Solis said.
Many doctors and other healthcare workers signed a petition to stop this budget cut. But to keep the state from stepping in, the OCHD continues to change the budget daily. As of now, there will be cuts to food programs, family planning (reproductive services), Miles of Smiles, beach monitoring, infectious disease control, suicide prevention, STD prevention and treatment, and many more. The budget was approved on Tuesday, September 26 2023, with the board voting 7-3 – one commissioner abstaining – all cuts were still in place.
