Health Department Administrator Dermott looks back at the last year

By CHRIS MORROW

Since last spring, Joel Dermott has been a very busy man. Recently, he carved out some time to sit down with the Lamar Democrat and discuss the challenges of heading up the Barton County Health Department's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"From the beginning, we've tried to focus on individuals; focus on every single person who calls with a question or a concern," said Dermott, who became the health department's administrator five years ago. When asked if he could have ever anticipated something like this current predicament, Dermott said it was actually on his radar early on.

"Health care isn't in my background. When I took the job, I thought I could help from an administrative standpoint," said Dermott, who is a voracious reader. In learning the job, he discovered one of the state's mandates was that public health agencies be prepared for catastrophes.

"I started digging into it (the possibility of a viral outbreak). It's been a concern for us from the beginning," he said.

When news out of China of a new and potentially devastating virus broke late in 2019, Dermott says the department began looking to stock up on protective equipment such as masks, gowns and face shields. He says the supplies were hard to come by even then and that was a red flag that things might get bad. Dermott has been critical of some of the federal government's decisions in response to the virus, but he believes one area the feds got right was the travel bans to China and Europe.

"I think that helped slow the spread and give us a little time to see what we had," said Dermott. When positive cases of the virus started to show up in the area and news outlets began to print cases by county, Barton County was one of the last to keep a zero in its column.

"We live in a rural area. We have a low population density and no public transportation. In March and April, we started to see hot spots popping up in population centers. Shutting things down did slow the virus and it flattened the curve, but when you flatten the curve, you also spread it out."

Eventually the virus found its way to Barton County.

"If it finds the right person, it does all the wrong things to them," said Dermott.

As summer gave way to autumn, Dermott says there was an uptick in positive cases in Barton County.

"It was the perfect storm," he said. "For a long time, we didn't have much activity but then as things are opening back up, the weather is changing, indoor air quality isn't as good and pollen counts are up," said Dermott, who says that COVID-19 often mimics seasonal allergies at the onset of symptoms. People tend to think they are dealing with their usual fall sinus problems when in reality they may be spreading the virus.

Dermott acknowledges that some of the decisions he and his department have made have not been popular.

"There may be people out there who think we have gone too far at times and there are people who probably think we haven't gone far enough. We are making the best decisions we can with the information we have," he said, adding, "I know there's been a lot of anguish that goes along with the quarantines and that is the hard part."

It's worth noting here that health departments across the state have put on hold many of their programs in order to combat COVID-19. The Barton County Health Department continues to offer everything it did before the pandemic.

"We are charged with the well-being of everyone, with the health of the citizens overall," said Dermott, who is very proud of the department's staff. "It's been a matter of learning how to provide these services differently. Our entire staff has made a commitment to serve the people of this county, so they get something for their tax dollars that support us."

Barton County saw its peak of positive cases in October.

"We've had to learn as we go. We didn't know what we didn't know," said Dermott, who added, "There really is no manual on COVID response."

One area that seemed to be a potential worry was the chance of the virus spreading like wildfire in the schools, but Dermott says that hasn't been the case. He says that the distancing requirements and all the other precautions that Barton County's schools put in place when they reopened have been successful. Dermott says that the majority of the spread is in homes and family settings and that it appears to be more easily spread among adults than children. Frequently it's a matter of parents bringing the virus home to their children as opposed to the other way around.

One area that hasn't been popular with everyone is masks.

"There is a benefit to wearing a mask when you are not able to socially distance. They provide an element of protection and really do help you from spreading something. They are not the silver bullet, but they do help," he said.

Dermott stressed the value of the work the department's board of trustees has put in.

"They have been very supportive and what they do is for no pay. They have had a lot thrown at them for the things I do or say, or don't do or say."

He also praised the county's business owners for putting the health and welfare of their customers and employees ahead of their bottom line. He says that churches across the county have also contacted him to find out how best to try and minimize the spread of the virus.

"Ninety-nine percent of the people have been fantastic. I thank God every day that we live in Barton County. I'm Joel, that's all I am. We don't tell people what to do, we ask them, and we will continue do our best to help."