Island County Public Health unveils 2025 report on services, inspections, gaps

Taylor Lawson, Island County Public Health deputy director, gave a "sneak peek" of the department’s 2025 Impact Report at the Island County Board of Health meeting on Feb. 24, 2026, highlighting that the county served 870 children and families, issued more than 1,800 environmental health permits, collected over 1,200 water samples and investigated more than 380 communicable disease cases between January and December 2025.

The report’s community health section lists programs including Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) nutrition services and the Access to Baby & Child Dentistry program; county meeting coverage noted 41 children were provided access to dental care through that program in 2025. Commissioner Janet St. Clair pressed the board on capacity, saying, "It’s a critical issue for the long-term health outcomes of a kid." Deputy Director Taylor Lawson said the dental program "is supported by one staff member who works with families that may already have dental care established, which could account for the low number." Public Health Director Shawn Morris added that providers "have to accept Apple Health Medicaid, and some of them have opted out," a factor that limits the pool of dentists able to serve Medicaid-enrolled children.

Environmental health and natural resources work featured prominently in the Impact Report. Island County staff performed 601 food inspections, corrected 203 on-site sewage violations to protect groundwater and neighborhood safety, and distributed more than 1,200 water samples for testing. The county issued 1,800-plus permits across septic, land use and environmental health programs, underscoring high regulatory activity tied to shoreline and rural development pressures.

Public health programs also included direct food and infection-prevention support: staff distributed 4,175 fruit and vegetable vouchers totaling $41,175 in assistance and handed out 5,234 COVID self-test kits to residents during 2025, according to the report and board presentation materials.

Preparedness work in 2025 included two Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response tabletop exercises: one for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza and one focused on Water Availability during an emergency. The Impact Report explains, "These simulations allow us to test our coordination with the Island County Department of Emergency Management (DEM) and other agencies, ensuring that when extreme weather or health threats arrive, our response is fast, organized, and effective."

The board also acted on funding concerns. Shawn Morris warned that a proposed $29 million reduction in the state supplemental budget for Foundational Public Health Services, combined with an estimated $20 million shortfall from lower-than-expected vape tax collections, amounts to nearly $50 million in statewide reductions and would translate to roughly $300,000 to $400,000 annually lost for Island County. The Island County Board of Health approved a resolution supporting Foundational Public Health Services funding; the attached memo states such funding allows county leaders to "manage infectious diseases like tuberculosis, respond rapidly to emerging outbreaks and provide locally relevant health information to our community."

The 2025 Impact Report header frames the year as "A YEAR OF PARTNERSHIPS & GROWTH 2025" and affirms, "We build a responsive public health system that listens to the community and operates with openness and trust." One figure in the public-at-a-glance graphic appears as a standalone "250" between the 870 and 1,800-plus metrics but the label for that number is not included in the excerpt available at the board presentation.