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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHealth Board - Minutes - 6/18/2012 BAYFIELD COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH MEETING Monday, June 18, 2012 Health Department Resource Room Present: Wayne Williams, Harold Maki, Winefred Punjak, Beth Meyers Absent: John Bennett, Ken Jardine, Grace Heitsch, Elaine Kopp Staff: Jennifer Jako, Terri Kramolis, Cathy Moore Others: Laura Holt, AHEC Intern 1. Call the Meeting to Order: The meeting was called to order at 4:00 p.m. by Chairperson Meyers. Kramolis introduced Laura Holt to the Board. Laura is a nursing student at UW-Eau Claire. She is here under an AHEC (Area Health Education Coalition) scholarship. She is paid a stipend through AHEC to work here; we do not pay her. She is focusing on our Community Health Assessment and working on our Community Health Improvement Plan. Laura feels this has been a very positive experience for her so far. 2. Approval of April 20, 2012 Meeting Minutes: A motion to approve the minutes of the April 20, 2012 meeting was made by Williams; motion seconded by Maki. Motion carried. 3. Adoption of Agenda: Number 8 will be moved to number 4 as a member of the Board may need to leave before that item is discussed. 4. Review of Services Provided by the Health Department: Kramolis did a PowerPoint presentation as an overview of Health Department programs and which programs are mandated for the new members and as a refresher for old members. What exactly Public Health does was defined. Many programs are mandated but we get very little funding. The State of WI ranks 49th in the amount of GPR funding provided for mandated programs. Public Health is prevention based on the community level as compared to a doctor’s office where services are provided after the fact on an individual basis. As a public health department we are required to go out into the community. The professional employees are required to have a certain level of education to work in a public health department. Counties are required to have a public health department. We are a level III Health Department. Funding is based on population however we get 10 percent more because we are a Level III Health Department. We have an MCH (Maternal Child Health) program which includes PNCC (Prenatal Care Coordination) and new baby visits. This is a mandated program. We are required to have an immunization program. We are provided vaccines from the state. We are required to go into the schools and community. Whatever immunizations we provided for adults are all cost-based. We are not supposed to generate a profit. We are required to do prevention programs – obesity prevention, smoking, etc. We are required to do a communicable disease program, and human health hazard investigation. We have an environmental health program which is also required. This includes lead testing, mold investigation, etc. We are agents of the state for the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture inspections of food and lodging establishments. We also have a contract with the Department of Natural Resources for well testing and well inspections. There are 165 wells in Bayfield County. We also do Public Health Preparedness. This is also required but we do get a fairly generous amount of funding for this program. This would be dealing with anything that would adversely affect the health of the population. Some examples would be floods, tornados, etc. We also run the WIC Program for Ashland, Bayfield and Iron Counties. The main office is in Ashland but they do outreach to various sites in the three counties. Even with all the mandated programs and the small amount of money we receive we are holding our own. We do have a few programs that generate some revenue. 5. Discussion and Possible Action Regarding the WIC Fit Families Grant: This is a $10,000 grant. It starts in October. It is a new program within the WIC program. The purpose of this grant is to work with families of overweight or obese children ages 2 to 4 years old. We are supposed to have a caseload of 25 families. It is to work with families to eat healthier and increase physical activity. Outcomes have been good in other counties. Data will be recorded so we can tell if the program has made an impact. A motion to accept the WIC Fit Families Grant and forward it to the County Board for approval was made by Maki; motion seconded by Punjak. Motion carried. Kramolis reviewed the WIC monitor report with the Board. The WIC monitor was pleased with the way the WIC Program is run. The WIC monitor did point out that the WIC sign needed to be replaced. Jako has received grant funding to replace the sign. Recommendation is that WIC find a different location for their Iron River WIC clinics. They will now be holding clinics at The Lakes Community Health Center (TLC). This is also beneficial for the clients as there is readily available access to medical and dental care. Melissa Nicoletti is no longer working in the Health Department. We have turned the entire oral health program over to TLC. They can get more much reimbursement than we can. Clients also have access to other dental care. 6. TB Dispensary Contract: The contract has just been submitted to the State of WI. In the past we were set up as a dispensary but during the switch in directors we lost this capability. We are re- registered to provide this service. We would be the entity that would be the pay source for people who need x-rays, blood draws, etc. who do not have a way to pay for tests and treatment (insurance or money). We can then bill the state for reimbursement of those expenses. We have an agreement with TLC to be the referral source for blood testing and x-rays. We can be reimbursed up to $2,000. Our incidence of TB is very, very low. 7. Strategic Plan Presentation: We are required to do a strategic plan by State Statute. It is also required if we are going to move forward for accreditation. The National Accreditation requires a strategic plan be developed in a health department, that it is a living document and that we live by this. Staff were pulled together to invest in and to commit to. This is a commitment that we are not going to say that what has been done is good enough but that this is where we are going to drive our health department; how we can improve the services we provide to our community. 8. Environmental Health: a. Inspections Report: This is a summary of where we are by month of the types of facilities that have been inspected and how many have been completed. We have a low number of re- inspections which is good. We do get some wells that are positive for bacteria but not e coli. When this happens they cannot use their well water; they have to use bottled water. Pete Morrissette is contracted through GeminiCares to do water sampling in Sawyer County. There are 165 wells and he has almost done testing for the summer. He should be done sometime in July. He has done very well. We get S130 per well from the Department of Natural Resources. b. Health Space: This is an electronic program that can be loaded on a laptop or Ipad and taken out in the field. It automatically data syncs with the state. We can do billing. We can enter inspections reports right at the facility. The operator can sign the inspection form and it can be printed and given to them right away. We are hoping to be using the program by September. Also, right now the sanitarians are doing data reporting and the information has to be gathered by hand. This program will automatically gather that data and sync it to the State. 9. Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) Update: Public Health Departments are statutorily required to do a CHIP every five years. We have partnered with Ashland County the last two cycles. This year, in order to maintain their non-profit status, Memorial Medical Center (MMC) has an IRS requirement to do a CHIP. They have now partnered with us. They are our health care provider in the community so we should be working together. Also, even though we are required to do this, we do not receive any funding. MMC has funding to pay to have the plan printed to put out in the community. Also, a grant was written for $5,000 and submitted through MMC. MMC was awarded the grant and the money will be used to offset the cost of mileage that Laura is incurring. The Health Board will be invited to the rollout on September12,, 2012 at the Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center. 10. Next Meeting Date: August 20th at 4:00 pm 11. Other Issues: The clinic fee schedule was given to the Board. The fee schedule shows what we charge for various services; these are our actual costs. The Board was given a copy of the Summary of Practicum Project prepared by Tina Hagstrom. Tina, who used to work here, has just completed her Master’s Degree in Nursing. She used Kramolis as a mentor and our facility as a mentor site. She did research on recruitment and retention of public health nurses. Staffs from Ashland and Bayfield County Health Departments were surveyed. It shows, overall between the two departments, our staff is happy. WIC is a federally funded program and is open to audit. We were recently audited. The Board was given a copy of the summary document to look through. Two areas were denoted as areas of attention and needing corrective action. The first is the site for the Iron River clinics. The WIC clinics were held at the Our Savior Lutheran Church. There were times that there would be a funeral going on while the staff was trying to conduct a clinic. Also, the staff had to pick up the rooms before the clinic could be held. The clinics will now be held at TLC rather than church. We see that as a fit with the services we provide. The second was the WIC sign. The auditor felt the sign was not welcoming for participants. Jako wrote for a grant and was able to get funding for a new sign. WIC was complemented for going to Ashland County Health Department. Missy Nicoletti is no longer working for the County. TLC has taken over the program and has already done fluoride varnish clinics with WIC. Some of the equipment that we purchased with grant funding was given to TLC to use. The administrator and the clerk’s office are aware of this and the equipment numbers have been given to the clerk’s office so they know which pieces of equipment TLC has. We were funded through a program called Seal-A-Smile. TLC wrote for this grant this year; we did not. We were essentially losing money with this program. They can get a much higher reimbursement. This is their mission. As a health entity we want the service done; we were just not the best entity to do it. 12. Adjourn: 5:08 pm Respectfully Submitted Cathy Moore, Office Manager