By Dispatch Squatch in Klickitat Board of Health — 18 Nov 2025

🧠 Mental-Health Crisis Deepens & WIC Shortfalls: Klickitat Board of Health Update Fall 2025

Klickitat’s Board of Health met Nov. 4 to review severe WIC funding shortfalls, rising food and housing insecurity, and plans to expand rural outreach with KVH and Skyline Health. The county is preparing its 2026-28 Community Health Plan amid growing behavioral-health and isolation concerns.

🩺 Klickitat County Board of Health – November 4, 2025 Meeting Recap

Meeting held via Zoom | 30-minute session

🧑‍⚕️ Health Officer Report – Dr. Joel McCullough

Dr. McCullough emphasized the continued regional and national concern over opioid overdoses, particularly fentanyl, but focused his limited time on supporting a clearer chain of communication between the health officer role and local partners. No major new data was presented at this meeting, but he acknowledged persistent issues around data sharing and coordination, especially in rural counties like Klickitat.

🧠 Behavioral Health Disparities – Erinn Quinn

Health Director Erinn Quinn offered one of the meeting’s most substantial updates, reinforcing concerns previously raised in:

The October 21 Bingen City Council presentation by Dr. David Ruiz (recapped below)
Earlier Klickitat County health briefings referencing access and equity gaps

Key points:

Klickitat County’s behavioral health indicators remain poor compared to regional and statewide averages.
Rural barriers like transportation, staffing, housing instability continue to complicate care.
The county is working to better coordinate with providers like Comprehensive Healthcare and Mid-Columbia Center for Living.

Erinn also raised a discussion item around the need for interagency training on mental health response, building on concerns raised by law enforcement at prior budget hearings.

💰 Federal Funding & Capacity

Quinn briefly summarized ongoing efforts to secure federal public health dollars to shore up workforce capacity and infrastructure. The county is watching closely for CDC and HRSA funding programs in 2026 that may support:

Community health worker training
Rural telehealth pilot programs
Local data infrastructure for health surveillance

She noted that Klickitat, like many small counties, risks being underrepresented in state-wide funding formulas.

🗓 Administrative Items

The Board adopted its 2026 meeting schedule, with plans to hold at least four meetings next year. This is more than in previous years.
A short discussion was held about BOH membership structure and how to bring more public health experience and community voices into the process.

🧠 Rural Health in Focus: Mental Health Disparities Draw Growing Concern

Across multiple public meetings this fall, including city councils, county budget sessions, and this Board of Health meeting, behavioral health challenges in Klickitat County have emerged as a persistent and urgent concern.

🚨 “A System Under Strain”

At the October 2 Klickitat County budget workshop, Public Health Director Erinn Quinn warned commissioners that while the opioid crisis remains serious, the bigger structural crisis is mental health, especially among youth. She highlighted gaps in:

School-based supports
Psychiatric access across the county
Inter-agency coordination between law enforcement, health providers, and local governments

Quinn also noted that federal COVID-era dollars had temporarily bolstered services, but those funds have now sunsetted, leaving local programs under-resourced just as needs are rising.

"We have families waiting weeks for appointments, and they’re often asked to travel to Yakima or Vancouver. That’s not a reasonable option for a kid in Lyle or Bickleton.”

🗣 Dr. Ruiz Adds His Voice

Those themes were amplified during the October 21 Bingen City Council meeting, when Dr. David Ruiz, Klickitat County’s Health Officer, gave a direct and sobering report. He cited:

An ongoing lack of full-time psychiatric care in the county
Rising mental health crises in schools post-COVID
The burden on first responders and police, who are increasingly handling behavioral emergencies without adequate backup

🔗 Coverage of this meeting from Columbia Gorge News focused more on city procedure, leaving this public health update largely overlooked.

Ruiz advocated for stronger partnerships with Mid-Columbia Center for Living, telehealth access, and more flexible state/federal funding structures that reflect Klickitat’s rural reality.

🧾 Board of Health Connects the Dots

At the November 4, 2025 Board of Health meeting, the themes came full circle. Erinn Quinn again shared that Klickitat County’s behavioral health indicators are among the worst in the region, examples below, and warned that without investment in community health workers, technology upgrades, and care coordination, the disparities will continue to deepen.

📊 Examples of Klickitat County’s Behavioral-Health Challenges

Klickitat County continues to face significantly worse behavioral-health indicators than regional and statewide averages. For example:

Provider shortages: Klickitat County has roughly 1 mental-health provider for every 529 residents, far below state and national ratios.
🔗 https://www.wagap.org/newsfeed/suicide-prevention
No psychiatrists serving the county: As of the Washington State Department of Health’s statewide assessment, Klickitat was one of 17 counties with zero psychiatrists per 100,000 residents providing direct patient care.
🔗 https://doh.wa.gov/sites/default/files/legacy/Documents/1000/2018SHA_FullReport.pdf
Rising crisis-service demand: Crisis-service calls increased from 668 in 2020 to 774 by August 2021, highlighting growing need with limited local capacity.
🔗 https://comphc.org/rural-areas-in-the-time-of-covid-19-increased-need-for-crisis-services-in-klickitat-county/

⚠️ Public Access Concern

While the BOH continues to meet over Zoom, a recurring concern noted during public comments and echoed by attendees is the difficulty in accessing or finding Board of Health meeting materials, recordings, or opportunities for public comment. Advocates have called for:

Easier-to-find agendas and links
Clearer summaries of public health goals
Representation from more rural or underserved areas

Indeed, this meeting would have been difficult for us at the Klickitattler to cover without the support of Documenters who kindly released their notes for this meeting on a CC-by-4.0 license, along with a recording.

🗓 Next Steps

WIC funding updates will continue through December. If federal allocations remain delayed, Klickitat Public Health and WAGAP may coordinate emergency food support for impacted families.
Behavioral-health partnerships with Skyline Health and Klickitat Valley Health (KVH) will expand as part of the 2026-28 Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP).
Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) outreach sessions will be held in early winter in Goldendale and White Salmon. We will publish these dates when they become available.
Emergency-preparedness training for dispatchers and first responders continues through winter, including Mental Health First Aid and crisis-response protocol updates.
Next Board of Health Meeting: February 2026 (TBD)
💻 Join online: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/586587651
✉️ Comments: bocc@klickitatcounty.org

🍼 WIC Funding Risks in Klickitat County

Columbia Gorge News reports that local WIC funds may run out as early as November without renewed federal support, a major topic at the Nov. 4 meeting.
🔗 https://www.columbiagorgenews.com (alas, behind a paywall)

📊 Suicide & Behavioral Health Disparities (Klickitat Valley Health District)

CGN coverage highlights the exceptionally high suicide rate in KVH’s service area, issues echoed in the CHNA preview.
🔗 https://www.columbiagorgenews.com (also paywalled)

🏥 Klickitat County Health Department - Programs & Services

Overview of local programs including WIC, immunizations, environmental health, septic/well permitting, communicable-disease tracking, and home-visiting programs.
🔗 https://www.klickitatcounty.org/326/Public-Health

🍽 Food Insecurity & East-County Needs

WAGAP’s 2024 Community Needs Assessment describes rising food insecurity, child-poverty rates, and rural access barriers that frame many of Klickitat’s current public-health priorities.
🔗 https://www.wagap.org/newsfeed/community-needs-2024

🚨 Emergency Communications & Wildfire Preparedness

Emergency Management’s updates on tower interference, 911 system replacement, wildfire recovery, and responder training help explain why public-safety planning featured heavily in the November meetings.
🔗 https://www.klickitatcounty.org

🌾 Rural Health & Isolation in the Gorge

Uplift Local’s regional reporting on housing instability, food access, and social isolation reflects themes raised in Klickitat’s CHNA preview.
🔗 https://upliftlocal.news