A group of residents approached the Sanders County Commissioners last week regarding the county's communicable disease surveillance protocol. The document is reviewed each year and is a tool to assist the county in the event of a public health emergency.

The meeting last Wednesday was requested by resident Kate Hardman, who stated that the protocol includes violations of constitutional rights and state law. "We're asking for you to take action," she told the commissioners. Resident Bruce Hunn provided the commissioners with three pages of suggested changes for the protocol, which Commissioner Glen Magera said they passed on to the county attorney to review, as well as asked her to review any legal issues with the protocol. At the meeting last week, County Attorney Naomi Liesz said she would not enforce the protocol and said she had flagged parts of the protocol with which she had issues.

About 30 people attended the meeting last week, with some stating that they wanted the entire protocol rescinded. "We're not trying to tell the health department what to do," Hunn stated. "We're just arguing some of the stuff in here is way over the top." The protocol includes language that, if necessary, authorizes "involuntary detention if the individual or group does not comply with the voluntary request for isolation or quarantine." According to Hunn, "That we consider egregious. 'Quarantine and detention' violates MCA (Montana Code Annotated)." Hunn added that he feels the suggested amendments address issues with the protocol "and we feel those deserve consideration." He then stated that he is leaning toward amending the document, not rescinding it.

The protocol states: "This plan was designed to be specific guidelines for the prevention, mitigation, and response to infectious illnesses. ... This plan was developed to ensure communicable disease monitoring and containment in an effort to save lives, mitigate loss and assist in preventing further catastrophe." Leisz stated that the document is meant to be a guideline to how the health officers will respond, adding that it's probably necessary to have a protocol if there's an emergency. "You don't wait for an emergency to happen and then come up with a plan," County Commissioner Claude Burlingame said.

"I think we need something on paper for an outbreak of disease," said Steve Oswald of Thompson Falls, who attended the meeting. "I think some of the concerns are overblown. I think the protocols are important. We want to protect people's rights, but there's also a bigger picture as well."

Bill Naegeli with the county's Office of Emergency Management stated that the county spoke with someone at the state level and in 25 years of such protocols, there was only one time a protocol has been enforced. Naegeli said that perhaps the protocol could be worded differently. "I know the biggest issue is with involuntary detention. We need to find a way to word it so that we can get a person isolated if needed. We need to have that section in there," he said.

The protocol Leisz stated she thinks the document could be amended. Magera said the commissioners would like to have a chance to sit down and review the document with the county attorney before they go any further. Burlingame also said he was willing to sit down with Hunn and go over his specific concerns. Bob Gregg of Plains, who is a member of the county Board of Health, asked that the commissioners continue with the idea that it's not a political issue, but a public health issue.

The county Board of Health is reviewing application for Public Health Officer. The county received eight application and the health board members will review those and choose three applicants to interview.