Delco-Chesco Health Public Health Partnership Ending Aug 1

DELAWARE COUNTY, PA — Chester County will soon no longer serve Delaware County's public health needs as the coronavirus pandemic wanes.

Delaware County officials Thursday said the agreement between Delaware and Chester county will end on Aug. 1.

Chester County Health Department Director Jeanne Franklin wrote to Pennsylvania Acting Secretary of Health Alison Beam, requesting the discontinuation of the agreement, at the request of the Chester County Commissioners and Delaware County Council.

Chester County's health department functioned for more than 16 months as the public health lead for both counties.

Delaware County Council Chairman Brian Zidek and Council Vice-Chair Dr. Monica Taylor — on behalf of the full Delaware County Council — joined with Chester County Commissioners Marian Moskowitz, Josh Maxwell, and Michelle Kichline to announce their approval of the intergovernmental cooperation agreement at a news conference on March 19, 2020.

"Chester and Delaware Counties have a long history of working together and supporting each other in times of need, especially when it comes to public safety and public health," Moskowitz said at that time. "Together, we have trained, planned, and practiced for a situation such as this."

The intergovernmental cooperation agreement between Delaware and Chester counties, which began in March 2020, identified the responsibilities of the Chester County Health Department during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Those responsibilities included coordination of testing, case investigation and surveillance, contact tracing, isolation and quarantine designations, vaccinations, and public health communication. Throughout the pandemic, Franklin and her team also worked with Delaware County staff to support the pandemic challenges faced by long-term care facilities, hospitals, first responders, both County prisons and other congregate care settings, as well as the school districts in both counties.

Last month, the Commissioners and Delaware County Council were honored by the Main Line Chamber of Commerce for the successful COVID-19 public health partnership.

"The partnership between Chester and Delaware counties provided a focused public health response for everyone living and working in both counties," Moskowitz said at the event. "It worked because we all had one desire: To do everything that we could to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 and to keep all of our residents as healthy as possible."

"You learn a lot about people when the chips are down," Zidek said back in March 2020. "It is one thing to answer the bell when it's in your own backyard, but quite another when it's a little more distant. I find it remarkable that Chester County was willing to step up, and I offer a heartfelt Thank You."

Zidek said Delaware County owes the Chester County Health Department, the Chester County Commissioners, and their team a debt of gratitude.

"The assistance they provided was quite literally life-saving," he said.

"From the very start of our agreement with Delaware County, we were able to leverage the resources, assets, processes, and functions that we established within Chester County’s Health Operations Center," Franklin said. "So while the population number we were serving more than doubled, our public health actions did not increase proportionately. And ultimately, it meant that more than one million people were able to benefit from a local, coordinated public health response at the time that it was needed most."

Story by Marlene Lang