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Lake County Board of Health: Yesterday & Today
Originally formed to protect citizens from the smallpox epidemic,
local health boards have been serving Montana communities since as
early as 1879. Soon they began addressing public health issues of
all sorts and in 1901 the Montana Legislature created the State
Board of Health.
Together the local boards went on to address decades of
changing health problems, form smallpox and polio to tuberculosis
and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. The State Board of Health was
taken off the books in the 1995 legislature.
Today communities are still served by local Boards of Health who
work closely with state agencies like the Department of Health and
Human Services and Montana Department of Environmental Quality as
well as Tribal Health organizations to ensure the health and
safety of Montana’s communities.
The Lake County Board of Health oversees all facets of the Lake
County Health Department including Public Health, Environmental
Health and Solid Waste. The Board meets bi-monthly to discuss
current public health topics such as emergency preparedness,
wastewater regulations, family health and wellness, and to review
any variance requests from the Environmental Health Department.
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