(May 15, 2023) Policy Committee
EDDYSTONE, May 15 – Speaker of the House Joanna McClinton highlighted the positive contributions the Delaware County Health Department has accomplished and ways it has impacted the community just a year after being launched in April 2022. “From West Nile Virus to tracking Delco health trends, the Delaware County Health Department is laying the foundation for a healthier county” said Speaker McClinton, who represents portions of Delaware County and Philadelphia. “With new threats to public health emerging every day, I’m proud to support the work of the Health Department to identify, educate, and lead in protecting our community” said McClinton, who brought the House Majority Policy Committee in for a roundtable and tour Monday in Delaware County. During the first days of the pandemic in Pennsylvania, on March 6, 2020, the governor held a press conference to announce two confirmed presumptive COVID-19 cases – including one case in Delaware County. The county had not yet developed its own health department, and it relied on neighboring Chester County to help inform citizens. It exposed a weakness in Delco and for many of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties. Before it created its own health department, Delco was the largest county – by population – without its own health department. Even after its creation, only Bucks, Chester, Montgomery and Philadelphia run their own county-wide health departments. Other counties Read more