HomeMy WebLinkAboutHealth Board - Minutes - 4/11/2017BAYFIELD COUNTY
BOARD OF HEALTH MEETING
Tuesday, April 11, 2017 – 5:00 PM
Bayfield County Annex Building EOC
Present: Fred Strand, Jeremy Oswald, Elaine Kopp, Deb Dryer, Wayne Williams
Rachel Coughtry at 5:07
Via Telephone: Brian Goodwin
Absent: Ellen Braddock
Staff: Sara Wartman, Cathy Moore, Brandon Rohrig, Anne-Marie Coy, Amy Jarecki
1. Call the Meeting to Order: The meeting was called to order at 4:59 pm by Chairman
Strand.
2. Approval of February 14th, 2017 Meeting Minutes: A motion to approve the minutes of
the February 14th, 2017 meeting as presented was made by Oswald; motion seconded by
Kopp. Motion carried.
3. Public Comment: None.
4. Discussion and Possible Action Regarding the Strategic Plan: The final narrative
version of the 2016-2021 Strategic Plan was presented, which was approved at the last
all-staff meeting. It was pointed out that the planning sessions raised awareness on some
of the department issues and laid out guidelines for the next five years. The next step is to
have the sub-committee develop a work plan that will name who will be working on the
different strategies and within what timeframe. Strategic planning will be addressed at
every other staff meeting. The strategy of considering revenue-generating services was
discussed and clarified; the Health Department is looking to expand on the services
already provided. A motion to approve the Strategic Plan was made by Kopp; motion
seconded by Dryer. Motion carried.
5. First Quarter Budget Review: The 2017 budget will even out once all the revenues are
in and the auditors put 2016 expenses and revenues back to 2016.
6. Update Regarding Citizen Member Appointment to the Board of Health: Elaine
Kopp has been reappointed as a citizen member to a three (3) year term to the Board of
Health.
7. Update on Resolution No. 2017-19 To Secure State Funding to Support
Communicable Disease Control for Population Health: Resolution passed by County
Board of Supervisors on March 28, 2017. Resolution has been forwarded to state
legislators and to the WALHDAB (WI Association of Local Health Departments and
Boards) organization. WALHDAB has updated its website to reflect all the counties in
the State of Wisconsin who have passed Communicable Disease Resolutions. Chairman
Strand presented a copy of the Communicable Disease Funding Bill introduced in the
Legislature. Said copy was added to the agenda and a revised version was distributed to
Board of Health members.
8. Update on Health Department Staffing: Brandon Rohrig, our WIC
Director/Nutritionist has accepted a position as Director of Population and Public Health
for Northwestern Iowa. Applications are currently being accepted for this position.
Caloney Mesik, Public Health Nurse, has agreed to be interim WIC Director until a new
WIC Director/Nutritionist is hired and trained. Currently interviewing for the Office
Manager position; Cathy Moore has turned in her letter stating that she plans on retiring.
Her last day is May 31, 2017. Cathy has enjoyed her (almost) 26 years with the Health
Department. She has seen many changes in personnel and the direction Public Health has
taken. In the last few months and until Cathy retires, Amy Jarecki, Billing Clerk/Medical
Secretary has been training with Cathy on many of her duties and responsibilities. We did
get accepted as an approved location for placement of an intern through NEHA’s
(National Environmental Health Association) Internship Program for our Beach
Monitoring Program. The intern will be full-time in the Health Department, working ten
(10) weeks. Some of the changes in the job duties of the intern will be to work more
closely with local municipalities on understanding the different sample parameters and
putting together a weekly beach report that will be sent to all the local municipalities that
have beaches in their areas. This internship is paid through NEHA; no county levy will be
used. The new WIC clerk, Jessica Zakovec, seems to have adjusted to her new position
very well as has Amanda Paulson, the Public Health Nurse hired back in December of
2016.
9. WIC Program Update and Presentation: The Bay Area WIC project is up over 700 for
participant count, which is the highest since September 2015. Jessica, our new WIC
clerk, has been outreaching to the different groups she belongs to. Jessica also
participated in the Birth & Baby Expo that was held April 8 in Ashland. WIC has been
sponsoring car seat clinics the last few months as well, which has gone well. Brandon
shared information on his trip to Washington D.C. where he advocated for the WIC
program and educated state representatives on what WIC provides. Brandon received a
scholarship to attend and was only one of three WIC representatives from the state of
Wisconsin. He attended presentations by the state representatives on a variety of political
topics. One main point he came away with is that the Federal Government has no plans at
this time to cut the WIC program.
10. DNR Transient Non-Community Well Contract Report: The 2016 review of DNR
TNC Well Program for Washburn, Sawyer and Bayfield Counties took place in March
and went very well. The DNR representatives were impressed with our TN program and
how well it is being run. Anne-Marie Coy mentioned that the amount of reimbursement
per facility will be increasing by $20.00 to compensate for the distance traveled to collect
each sample. That increase will give the program an extra $8,000.00 to $9,000.00 of
revenue. In addition to that, there are around 20 new facilities to add to the program. The
DNR TN program is run with only two (2) Environmental Health staff and one (1)
support staff.
11. Update and Presentation on 2016 Wisconsin Coastal Management Grant – Well
Water Testing Program: Anne-Marie Coy presented the findings of the study, which
builds on the well water study done in 2015 as part of the livestock committee. That
study was focused on seven different townships and didn’t produce any levels that
exceeded the normal levels. The study for 2016 aimed at testing 200 wells throughout the
county. Roughly 154 tests were brought back to our lab for testing. Out of those 154
tests, roughly 46 came back with high levels. Wells that were unsafe for bacteria were the
highest, but high levels of lead, copper and manganese were also seen. Upon retesting the
wells, most came back with normal levels. Each type of contaminate was discussed along
with the corresponding overall test results. The goal of this study was to test wells in
every town, outreach to problem wells and provide education. There were six outreach
events as well as partnerships with the different libraries in the county. Tests came in
from every part of the county; Barnes having the most. The results from these tests will
be put into the UW-Stevens Point water quality viewer online this summer. The results
will also be shared with the Bayfield County Land Records department to aid in creating
our own mapping data on the Bayfield County website. Wells that remain unused is one
of the major issues in groundwater contamination. There have been roughly 7 or 8 of
these wells that have been forwarded over to Land Conservation for abandonment. The
process of well abandonment was discussed.
12. Grant Updates: We are in the process of applying for a grant through Security Health to
help allow for three permanent drop box collection sites for both drugs and sharps. We
have exhausted our supply of infant car seats that were set to expire in 2019 through the
car seat clinics held at the WIC office. Another car seat grant is being applied for. The
Community Opportunity Grant, which focuses on alcohol use and abuse reduction, is at
the policy level stage right now. The next step is to put that policy into a publishable
format and approach the appropriate audience.
13. Next Meeting Date: The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, June 20, 2017 at 4:30
pm in the EOC. Dates for the rest of 2017 are August 8th and Oct 10th.
14. Other Issues: None.
15. Adjourn: The meeting adjourned at 5:57 pm.
Respectfully Submitted,
Amy Jarecki, Clerk 1/Medical Secretary