The Kitsap Public Health District is concerned about Gov. Bob Ferguson’s preliminary budget, as it cuts state funding for public health 15%.

KPHD administrator Yolanda Fong said that’s 22% of its budget. “It’s a critical piece of our funding,” adding it could lead to a reduction in services. She encouraged district commissioners and others to advocate for the funds.

Dr. Gib Morrow, the district’s health officer, said he would do just that, meeting with state leaders. He said prevention measures through public health save $10 for every $1 invested. “We get good value out of prevention. Prevention saves lives and money.”

He said nationally, public health gets just 3% of funds spent on health.

He said despite high health care costs the U.S. still has many health problems, such as a high rate of preventable deaths.

But public health is successful. He mentioned that in Kitsap County there were half the number of sexually transmitted diseases in 2024 as there were in 2022. “We find cases and stop the transmission by getting folks treated.”

He also mentioned improvements made with the homeless opioid response and health care access, “although it’s still a critical issue in Kitsap.”

Morrow said the “time may be ripe” to “capitalize on the disruption of COVID and its aftermath to fix the broken health care system.”

He said nationally an effort is being made to simplify financing, reduce complexity and improve efficiency by being transparent and accountable.

On other topics, he said the flu has had its worst outbreak in 15 years, taking off after a decline in January. The number of vaccinations is down some, but he said it’s still not too late to get one.

Speaking of shots, Morrow mentioned the 150 kids in West Texas who were unvaccinated and came down with the measles. He said 92% of kids are vaccinated in Kitsap as they go into kindergarten. The first case this year in the state was recently found in Seattle.

“It’s incredible how effective” measles shots are, he said, adding he got his in 1960, and it’s still positive. He said measles is very contagious, and if you get vaccinated you won’t pass it on and you won’t get very sick if you do get it.

Board member and Poulsbo Mayor Becky Erickson said she remembers when there weren’t shots. She remembers all four kids in her family getting mumps, and that she still has scars from chicken pox.

“Please get vaccinated,” she urged the public. “It’s a simple, precautionary step,” and if you don’t get it you put children, friends and family at risk.

County Commissioner and board member Christine Rolfes said she knows there are people who would like to get vaccinated, but are not organized enough to figure out how to get it done.

Morrow was asked what would happen if the federal government cuts Medicaid. “It’s the best value in public health,” he said, adding it’s efficient, person-centered and holistic with wraparound services. He said many doctors can’t accept it anymore because the reimbursement rate is so bad. “Here, it’s among the lowest in the nation. It can’t go any lower.”

He said if it’s cut mothers would be hurt the most as 40% of pregnant women in Kitsap use those funds for prenatal and maternal care.

Board member Stephen Kutz of the Suquamish Tribe said Ferguson has made Medicaid access a priority. But Rolfes said while Ferguson could still fund the state match, his budget could not make up for all the federal money that could be lost.

Let’s talk poop

The board passed new regulations for septic tanks but KPHD Environmental Health director John Kiess said even though there are 57,000 of them in the county the changes are about technical standards and design for new ones.

He said fewer permits are awarded every year. He did say septic rules are tougher on small properties so they could be more of a challenge to develop.

Dayna Katula, program manager for Water Pollution Identification and Correction Program, then gave the annual report for water quality.

“We can’t do anythng about wildlife poop,” but we can with people through education, especially working with young students, she said.

She said they sample all 66 streams in the county monthly for E. coli. “If we find poop we correct it at the source.”

She said during the last test, 36 streams met water-quality standards, 15 had high amounts of bacteria periodically and 15 people should not come in contact with because they had consistently high levels of bacteria. Warnings are posted until problems are fixed.

Types of issues include runoff from farms, failing septic tanks and recreational vehicle dumps.

KPHD also monitors shorelines and lakes. They investigate “hot spots” on shorelines with the goal of having healthier shellfish and cleaner water.

Blooms are an annual problem in Kitsap lakes. KPHD often has to close lakes during summer when they are most used for recreation. Warnings are posted, but education is the key to controlling that. “Poop is happy and wants to grow” in warm water, she said.

Katula said microbial source tracking on water samples is expensive but one way to find out “which species the poop” is coming from.

Bainbridge Island Mayor Ashley Mathews, another board member, asked why BI streams aren’t being tested.

Kiess said no cities in Kitsap are because it’s a county program. He said they have done some projects, but they’re not ongoing.

Mathews likes to ride horses, so she asked how their poop effects water quality. They can’t clean it up like folks do for dogs. Kiess said one pile of poop isn’t a problem but a farm with 50 horses could be.