Butler County Commissioner Kevin Boozel joined his counterparts from six other Western Pennsylvania counties Tuesday afternoon in a meeting to discuss creating a regional department of health.

The discussion grew from the frustration counties experienced trying to get COVID-19 information from the state.

Boozel said it was the first conversation the group has had on the subject, and cautioned that the discussion was only a start.

“It's just preliminary,” Boozel said. “We wanted to look into what it would take to open a DOH.”

Joining him in the virtual meeting were commissioners from Washington, Fayette, Greene, Westmoreland, Beaver and Lawrence counties.

The only action taken was agreeing to meet again in a couple of weeks, even though a meeting date hasn't been set. Each participant will bring a list containing five challenges that they have faced during the pandemic and that they want changed, Boozel said.

Commissioners spent a lot of time sharing stories about efforts to obtain information from the state that ended in disappointment, he said.

“There has been some frustration since March, getting information from the state to us, but that was resolved,” Boozel said.

It was resolved with help from the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania, he said.

Boozel, CCAP president, said members talk to leaders of the Pennsylvania Department of Health and the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency monthly, and Gov. Tom Wolf every other week, to ask questions and share answers with member counties.

“We can get answers from them,” he said. “It's really been helpful. From where we were in March to where we are now, it feels like a different world.”

It is uncertain if the seven counties could afford to create their own health departments, but a regional department is possible, he said.

“Overall I don't think it's a bad thing that we're doing this,” Boozel said. “It does make some sense. I think we have long way to go.”

He said another idea is to station a representative from the state health department in Southwestern Pennsylvania to work with counties and municipalities.