PHHS discusses emergency preparedness five years after pandemic

Cook County Public Health Supervisor Grace Grinager and Public Health Educator Andrea Tofte presented on the county’s emergency preparedness during the June Public Health and Human Services Board Meeting. Tofte is the Emergency Preparedness Coordinator and the Disease Prevention and Control Coordinator. Her work includes everything from preparing for wildfires in the Superior National Forest to managing a pandemic outbreak in the community.

Grinager has direct experience dealing with a public health crisis, as her department was responsible for communication and education during the COVID pandemic.

“A lot of that work is pretty invisible most of the time, because thankfully, we don’t often live in a state of emergency here. So a lot of what we do is prepare for potential situations so that if they were to occur, we’d have some plans in place,” Grinager told WTIP.

The presentation comes during the fifth anniversary of the COVID-19 outbreak. The pandemic brought uncertainty and fear to communities throughout the world.

“Some of the listeners might remember, I was on the radio quite a bit during the pandemic, giving people information and updates on recommendations for prevention practices, vaccination recommendations,” Grinager said. “I think I saw one of our primary purposes was to inform people and to kind of lessen that confusion. In a really confusing time, there was so much. In terms of what we knew about the virus, what the recommendations were, and there was also just a ton of fear and uncertainty for people, so making sure people knew that they had someone locally that was in their corner and there to help.”

PHHS’s focus has shifted as the pandemic has faded. Board meetings have become focused on the more immediate challenges of healthcare funding and substance misuse, but collaboration between departments continues.

A COVID-19 grant is helping to fund a collaborative project between PHHS, Grand Portage Health Services, North Shore Health, and Sawtooth Mountain Clinic. The project, which is the result of a community health assessment released earlier this year, would provide an online directory of all services offered through the county, helping people find the appropriate institution to get the help they need.

Public Health Supervisor, Grace Grinager spoke to WTIP after the June Public Health and Human Services Board meeting about emergency preparedness, Age-Friendly, and the summer events throughout the county. You can find the audio of the conversation below.

Josh Hinke July 7, 2025