Public Health

• April 18, 2020Public Health

  #61: The County takes on a Pandemic

  Over a month into a declared state of emergency, Thurston County health officials are working hard to respond to COVID-19. We spoke with Schelli Slaughter, the director of Thurston County […]

• March 30, 2020General Interest, Public Health

  #60: COVID-19 Hits Olympia

  The past few weeks have turned life in Olympia on its head. In this episode, recorded remotely in our homes, we share some updates from our lives and our observations […]

• January 27, 2020Public Health

  #56: Opioid Response

  In June 2018, the Opioid Response Task Force started to develop a plan to address the opioid crisis in the county. This plan was approved by the Thurston County Commissioners […]

• December 16, 2019Homelessness, Public Health

  #53: Homelessness in the City and County

  This episode focuses on the response to the crisis of homelessness, both in the city and across the county. We interviewed Keylee Marineau, the county’s Homeless Prevention and Affordable Housing […]

• December 2, 2019Homelessness, Public Health

  #52: Behavioral Health

  Publicly funded behavioral health, including treatment for mental health and substance use, is rapidly evolving. We interviewed Mark Freedman and Joe Avalos of the Thurston-Mason Behavioral Health Organization to learn […]

• August 19, 2019Public Health

  #44: The State of Emergency Healthcare

  One of our listeners asked us to cover the state of emergency healthcare in Olympia. We have heard about emergency rooms that are beyond capacity and ambulances being diverted to […]

• July 22, 2019Public Health

  #42: Vaccines and Public Health in Olympia

  With measles outbreaks occurring in several counties in Washington state this year, we wondered: what would happen if we had an outbreak in Olympia? How vulnerable are we? How do […]

• August 4, 2018Public Health

  #20: Malika Lamont and the Opioid Epidemic

  On this episode of The Olympia Standard, we talk to Malika Lamont about the opioid crisis. Why are people becoming addicted and what impact does it have on their lives? What […]