It must be obvious to anyone in our county after six months of dealing with the novel coronavirus, that Warren County needs a local health department.

We commend Commissioner Ben Kafferlin for introducing the idea and commissioners Tricia Durbin and Jeff Eggleston for not immediately dismissing the idea as too costly.

County residents have seen the difficulty in trying to get reliable Warren County information about COVID-19 infections and deaths as well as disseminating health and safety information. It’s easy for state Health Department officials to speak in statewide platitudes, but the situation here in Warren County is much different than it is in Harrisburg, Pittsburgh or Philadelphia. Warren County residents should receive pandemic information with a rural lens, not a city lens. A Health Department can monitor conditions here and take them to Harrisburg — state officials may not listen, but at least we can say we made our case with trustworthy information gathered by a professional.

Neighboring Chautauqua County’s Health Department has made a wealth of information available about COVID-19 inside the county, with regular briefings when the situation warrants it and daily information being released. It sure beats relying on Dr. Rachel Levine and Pennsylvania’s clunky website dashboard.

Durbin made a good point when she asked if the investment is worth it in years when there isn’t a pandemic. We would say yes, a health department is a worthy investment, particularly if it comes with some type of a Board of Health that meets regularly.

Warren County is prone to many of the same non-pandemic health issues that plague our nation.

We rank 34th in the state in health behaviors according to the 2020 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation county health rankings, a measure that includes obesity, smoking, drinking and physical inactivity. Having a Health Department, along with a Board of Health, gives Warren County and any of its partners a sounding board to promote policies that may help our county’s overall physical health as well as sound alarms when something is being spread in our community that we should all know about.

The most difficult aspect of this decision is creating a new county position during a time when county revenues are going to be hurt by the pandemic. We hope Warren County and its potential partners can find the money to make a Health Department a reality. It will be worth the investment.