Community Health

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Healthy people are the foundation of a healthy county. I do not say that as a slogan. I have spent much of the last fifteen years working on it.

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In 2018, I helped lead the countywide ballot measure that created dedicated, ongoing funding for behavioral health in San Miguel County. That work was not theoretical. It raises more than a million dollars a year for behavioral health services, and it built a structure that is still funding care today. Through my work at Tri-County Health Network, I helped place teletherapy directly in our schools, so a student in crisis could reach a counselor without leaving the building or waiting weeks for an appointment, and I worked to extend telehealth access to residents across the county, east end and west end alike.

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I know this work because I have done it, and I know how far there still is to go. Rural counties lose people to gaps in care, to the distance between a family and the nearest provider, to a system that was never built for a place this spread out. The job now is to keep what we have built funded and reliable, and to reach the people and the corners of the county that care still does not reach.

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Keep care funded and reliable

    •    Protect and build on the dedicated behavioral health funding our voters approved.

    •    Continue to support local healthcare infrastructure so affordable care stays available to residents.

    •    Strengthen local public health so the county is ready for the next emergency, not just the last one.

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Reach the people care misses

    •    Expand behavioral health and youth mental health services, building on the teletherapy already in our schools.

    •    Explore a county-funded mobile health unit to serve outlying communities, including the west end.

    •    Continue to invest in food security across the county.

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Support families at every stage

    •    Invest in early childhood and support local K-12 public education.

    •    Consider increased county funds to help working families with childcare costs, beyond the Early Childhood Education fund.

    •    Strengthen community connection and the cultural diversity that makes this county what it is.