Vincent appointed to health panel

The Hill County sanitarian’s oversight on health issues soon will be spreading far beyond the borders of the county.

Hill County Sanitarian and Planner Clay Vincent was among the appointments Gov. Steve Bullock announced to his Healthier Montana Task Force.

Bullock established the task force by executive order to direct and monitor implementation and operation of his plan to improve health in Montana. The report on that plan, “Big Sky. New Horizons. A Healthier Montana,” was released in June by the state Department of Public Health and Human Services.

Work on the Healthier Montana plan began in 2012 when DPHHS began compiling and presenting information on the health issues in Montana. Information from focus groups, on-site meetings, surveys, and a series of webinars was used in the plan, the report says, adding that more than 300 individuals representing more than 130 organizations participated in its development.

The executive order establishing the task force to which Bullock appointed Vincent will comprise no more than 20 members representing public health agencies, health care providers, hospitals and health care facilities, tribal health programs, mental health providers and consumers.

The focus of the task force in implementing the health plan will be on:

• Preventing, identifying and managing chronic diseases;

• Promoting the health of mothers, infants and children;

• Preventing, identifying and controlling communicable disease;

• Preventing injuries and reducing exposure to environmental health hazards;

• Improving mental health and reducing substance abuse; and

• Strengthening Montana's public health and health care system.