EBS STAFF
BIG SKY—At the April 28 Big Sky Relief Operational Partners coordination
meeting, representatives presented status reports as well as operational
adjustments in light of the county’s phased reopening.
Taylor Rose from the Bozeman Health Big Sky Medical Center announced
that the facility is beginning to open services at 25 percent capacity, placing
BHBMC in Phase 3 of incident command. The next phase will move capacity to 50
percent. A lab analyzer is currently on-site at the clinic and testing is
available, but according to Rose, turnaround times will be delayed until
testing media is made available to the facility.
Four additional rooms at BHBSMC are still currently under
construction and are expected to be completed in the first full week in May. Rose
said that BHBSMC is closely monitoring news from Yellowstone National Park and
the broader tourism industry, as openings could place more pressure on the
staff and facilities.
On the mental health front, Women in Action continues to
offer counseling, and a potential grant could allow for an extension of free
counseling services into May.
Other community resources continue to be made available
through organizations like the Big Sky Community Food Bank, which has been
supplying significantly more meals to a larger portion of the community than at
this time last year. Throughout the summer, BSCFB announced that they may
continue the curbside pre-packed pick-up model for an extended period of time.
Ciara Wolfe, Big Sky Community Organization CEO reported
that after returning a portion of their resort tax appropriations from the
Fiscal Year 20 allocation, BSCO is operating with 50 percent of typical
maintenance staff in an attempt to be fiscally conservative. The organization currently
has 63 registered volunteers working across five weekly shifts to support
various community needs. As the warming temperatures unearth waste of all
sorts, BSCO has organized trash pick-up days to keep trails and parks clean. Wolfe
reported that the recent Runoff Cleanoff efforts, which were organized by BSCO
in coordination with the Gallatin River Task Force, collected a total of 238
pounds of waste.
The Big Sky Chamber of Commerce continues to work to
decipher additional national aid packages trickling down from the U.S.
Congress. Most recently, BSCC is sorting through the additionally appropriated
$484 billion intended for Economic Injury Disaster loans and advances, Payroll
Protection Program loans, healthcare industry needs and testing advancements.
Despite the governor’s recent reopening strategy, which
allows Montana school districts the choice to return to traditional learning
environments beginning May 7, the Big Sky School District voted unanimously, at
an April 24 board meeting, to continue distance learning for the remainder of
the academic year, which is scheduled to end on May 29. Superintendent Dustin
Shipman reported that lunch requests have increased and are up to 70-75 lunches
per day and that 95 percent of BSSD staff is currently working.
