Outgoing Panhandle Health director talks about challenges, gains, COVID response
Don Duffy is leaving the Panhandle Health District, which covers five North Idaho counties, after a decade and three years at the helm during COVID-19. Panhandle Health has broad services: Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer water quality protection, nutrition services and operation of primary care clinics – one each of its counties. Duffy was the district's incident commander during the pandemic. Duffy said he didn’t choose a briefly-held masking mandate its board of health implemented that was largely ignored by the public. In hindsight, he thinks more focus should have gone toward vulnerable seniors in health care facilities. Leaving May 24, Duffy plans to run a medical consulting practice.