Cook County Commissioner Garry Gamble (pictured on the left) accepted the County Conservation Award for Cook County at the Association of Minnesota Counties annual conference held December 5 in Minneapolis. Cook and Lake counties were honored for their partnership and collaboration with each other on the development of the Lake Superior North Watershed Management Plan.
Four programs from counties across Minnesota were recognized with Association of Minnesota Counties’ (AMC) 2016 “County Achievement Awards” for exhibiting excellence and innovation in their counties. AMC President Jack Swanson, a Roseau County commissioner, presented the awards at the association’s annual conference Dec. 5 in Minneapolis.
The recipients were nominated by their counties and selected by a committee of county officials, chaired by 2016 AMC First Vice President Gary Hendricks, a Swift County commissioner.
Cook County joined Carlton, Itasca, Koochiching, Lake and St. Louis counties; and Bois Forte, Fond du Lac and Grand Portage bands of the Lake Superior Chippewa to receive AMC’s Telehealth Initiative Achievement Award.
The Arrowhead Region consists of 23 percent of Minnesota’s geography and is home to 6 percent of the population. Arrowhead Health Alliance (AHA) Joint Powers counties of Carlton, Cook, Lake, Koochiching, and St. Louis partnered with Fond du Lac, Bois Forte, and Grand Portage Bands of the Lake Superior Chippewa, Aitkin and Itasca Counties, Minnesota Department of Human Services and Minnesota Department of IT (MNITs) to develop a Telepresence Initiative.
Various entities throughout the region did not have access to the health services they needed, especially for mental health and chemical dependency, nor the resources to obtain these services. Due to the geography, limited resources, and demand for services, telepresence became the most viable option.
The partners worked with other public and private agencies to provide care and access to services throughout the region by creating a network of users that have increased access to otherwise unobtainable services. Psychiatrists and therapists connect to area schools, jails, correctional facilities, and mental health agencies. Rule 25 chemical dependency assessments are being completed via telepresence, while hospitals and regional law enforcement are in the process of connecting to mobile crisis teams to better manage the rising number of mental health patients in regional emergency departments.
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