He has been a regular with La Paz County Emergency and Public Health Services for over 40 years. Now he’s hanging it. Greg His Buckman retirement became official on December 31, 2022.

Bachmann was honored with a plaque presented by the Director of Health, Marion Shontz, at the January 3 County Board of Supervisors meeting. The plaque recognized his 20 years of service in the health sector and thanked him for his dedication and hard work.

Schontz said Bachmann is expected to be out and it will be difficult to replace him.

Backman first joined the Buckskin Fire Department in 1981, but began working as a firefighter in 1974 while in the United States Air Force. He was stationed at Edwards Air Force Base in California. Among the aircraft he trained were the B-1 bomber, the F-15 and he F-16 fighter, the A-10 ‘warthog’ attack aircraft, and his space shuttle.

At Buckskin FD, Buckman rose to the rank of captain. He was also a Fire Investigator and Public Education Coordinator. Injuries forced him to retire in 2001.

Bachmann said he was impressed with how Buckskin FD has grown over the years and the variety of firefighting services currently offered.

“They really grew up,” he said. “They are well known to be wildfire crews. They have fought wildfires all over the country.”

The aftermath of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001 has poured funds into emergency preparedness. Backman said he was hired by the La Paz County Health Department in April 2002.

Bachmann worked on developing and finalizing an emergency response plan. He completed the plan with a strategic national stockpile from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. He also completed a public health preparedness project as recommended by the CDC. He also completed his CDC program for opioid abuse.

Contingency plans cover everything from events like the Wenden Flood to power outages.

“This is any public health emergency,” he said.

Backman is also trained in incident command with firefighters and police officers. Following the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, he is working with local schools on emergency response plans. These include not only active shooting his game, but also dangerous objects and much more. He pointed out that most of La Paz County’s schools are near highways and highways where hazardous materials can be spilled.

He was also involved in coordinating business continuity plans across the county. The plan is intended to ensure that county governments can continue to function in the event of an emergency requiring evacuation of county facilities. The plan started in his 2020 when the COVID coronavirus pandemic hit the county.

“This plan really helped when people started working from home,” Backman said. “I didn’t expect something so wild.”

The virus has been in the county for about three years, Buckman said, and the health department has been focusing on it for two and a half years.

One of the problems with the federal and state response to the pandemic was that it did not initially take into account the number of winter visitors to La Paz County. They weren’t included in the census figures, making the county’s number of cases appear higher than it actually was. One of Bachman’s and the Department of Health’s arguments was that the county should test and vaccinate winter visitors.

The county is currently seeing about 15 to 20 new cases a week, which is far less than the average of over 200 new cases a week at the height of the pandemic, Bachmann said. He added that it’s difficult to know exactly how widespread the virus is. Bachmann said many people may have tested positive, but they have not reported this to health officials.

“We are monitoring the virus as best we can,” Buckman said. “We’re still continuing with vaccinations and testing. We’re still investigating new cases. We’ll be here for a while.”

Bachmann said the majority of COVID cases are in the 20- to 45-year-old group. However, 80% of his deaths are in people over the age of 65.

One of the last programs Buckman was involved in was creating the Community Health Workers Program. The program has volunteers who help navigate the health care system and help those who need help finding the care and services they need.He credits his Carmen Gonzalez-Ulloa for making the program a success. I applauded the achievement.

Bachmann says the program has become a statewide standard.

“Other counties call the Arizona Department of Health about their CHW programs, and ADHS tells them to call La Paz County,” Buckman said.

Bachmann said he wants to retire because he wants to spend more time with his family and travel. He is still there, he said.

“It was a great ride,” he said. “I love living in La Paz. I appreciate being part of the community.”