more region helper method tweaks

refs CNVS-15956

Change-Id: I216bc3e200e7b75741dd424b8f5a0fdfaa467a6c
Reviewed-on: https://gerrit.instructure.com/42339
Tested-by: Jenkins <jenkins@instructure.com>
Reviewed-by: Rob Orton <rob@instructure.com>
Product-Review: Cody Cutrer <cody@instructure.com>
QA-Review: Cody Cutrer <cody@instructure.com>