The Health Officer’s dilemma

In the past week, Jefferson County joined the rest of the planet in playing out a classic civic dilemma pitting public safety against economic well-being. It’s worth exploring what happened to better understand the forces at play, decisions that were made and not made, and the potential impact of resulting policy.

Executive summary: There’s no easy answer.

Some background: Montana state law requires every county to employ a health officer whose job is to advocate for public health and to make independent decisions when threats emerge. Specifically, the law empowers the health officer, in collaboration with federal, state, and local officials, to “take steps to limit contact between people in order to protect the public health from imminent threats, including but not limited to ordering the closure of buildings or facilities where people congregate and canceling events.”