Health Department report: $23.4 million year, recovery services up
The county Health Department's FY26 annual report shows peer recovery and home nursing work rising while vaccinations and dental care fell.
The Garrett County Health Department took in $23.4 million in fiscal 2026, about a third more than four years earlier, and reported big gains in peer recovery and home nursing work while vaccinations and dental care fell, according to its new annual report.
The department posted the FY26 report on its website Thursday, the day Health Officer Jennifer Hare was scheduled to present it to a joint meeting of the county Board of Health and the Health Planning Council in Oakland. No minutes or other results from the meeting had been posted by Thursday afternoon.
In a message opening the report, Hare called FY26 "a year of continued service, collaboration, and investment in the health of Garrett County."
Where the money came from. State grants were the largest source, at $8.9 million, or 38% of the total. Fees for services brought in $4.9 million, other grants $3.9 million, the state's core funding $3.1 million and Garrett County $2.5 million. Total funding is up 32%, or about $5.7 million, since fiscal 2022, the report says, and about $5.2 million went to local businesses.
What grew. The report compares most programs with their five-year averages. Peer recovery services rose 51%, to 4,330. Home health staff made 3,542 skilled nursing visits, up 23%. School counseling sessions rose 12%, to 4,540, and behavioral health treatment sessions reached 10,707, up 3.4%. Health education sessions climbed 40%, to 985, reaching 22,399 people. Screenings for colorectal and skin cancer rose 42%, to 63 patients, and 204.5 pounds of unwanted medication was collected, up 24%.
What fell. Adult and child immunizations dropped 29%, to 264. Applications processed for the Maryland Children's Health Program fell 27%, to 949. Dental care was down across the board: the dental program's counts of children and adults on Medical Assistance fell 8.7%, to 867, and 7.8%, to 1,392, and dental emergencies fell 13%, to 356. Animals vaccinated for rabies dropped 14%, to 389.
WIC served 920 people, down 2.7%, but families redeemed $517,516 in supplemental foods, up 13%.
Inspections and permits. Environmental health staff did 652 food service inspections, collected 400 beach and lake water samples and issued 629 burning and septic permits, all within about 4% of their five-year averages.
The report notes that all of its data are subject to revision. It is posted on the department's annual report page at garretthealth.org/annual-report, along with reports from earlier years.
