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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHealth Board - Minutes - 6/20/2017BAYFIELD COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH MEETING Tuesday, June 20, 2017 – 4:30 PM Bayfield County Annex Building EOC Present: Fred Strand, Jeremy Oswald, Elaine Kopp, Deb Dryer, Ellen Braddock, Rachel Coughtry Absent: Wayne Williams, Brian Goodwin Staff: Sara Wartman, Amy Jarecki, Theresa Foley, Kelsey Latimer 1. Call the Meeting to Order: The meeting was called to order at 4:34 pm by Chairman Strand. 2. Approval of April 11th, 2017, Meeting Minutes: A motion to approve the minutes of the April 11th, 2017 meeting as presented was made by Kopp; motion seconded by Dryer. Motion carried. 3. Public Comment: None. 4. Update on Health Department Staffing: Introductions were made as we have had a few new staff members join the Health Department. Kelsey Latimer, WIC Director/Project Nutritionist is becoming acclimated to the WIC clinic schedule. Theresa Foley, who started employment on Monday, June 19th, 2017, filled Amy Jarecki’s role as the Clerk I. Amy Jarecki has transitioned into the Office Manager role after Cathy Moore retired May 31st, 2017. We received an internship opportunity this summer through the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA), filled by Jacob Kentnich, NEHA Intern, who will be taking the beach samples. He will be working closely with Anne-Marie Coy and Michelle Simone for the beach monitoring and surveillance program. Amanda Paulson, part-time Community Health Nurse, has resigned from her position and was done June 14th, 2017. We are actively seeking applicants for a part-time Community Health Nurse. Sara Wartman, Health Director, will be taking maternity leave sometime in September. 5. Discussion and Possible Action Regarding Resolution to Accept Alcohol and Drug Awareness Donation The Bayfield County Health Department has received a donation from Marshfield Clinic in the amount of $1,000 to assist in expenses incurred chairing alcohol and drug awareness meetings and work in assisting local communities in obtaining drop off sites for drug collection. Pete Morrissette, Public Health Educator/Environmental Health Technician, applied for two different mini grants to work on AODA issues on the local level. A motion to approve the resolution and forward to the Full County Board was made by Oswald; motion seconded by Kopp. Motion carried. 6. Discussion and Possible Action Regarding Resolution to Accept PHEP Ebola Grant The Bayfield County Health Department has received a PHEP (Public Health Emergency Preparedness) Ebola Grant in the amount of $8,182 to improve our capacity on the local level for community preparedness and trainings. These were funds that had been taken away from us early in 2016 by the state and then given back to us later in 2016 as the state had a surplus of funds. Specifically, we are to use these funds for staff preparedness trainings and supplies for Go Kits. We have purchased three (3) Go Kits that can be used when called out to a disaster or any unknown situation. These bags contain items such as specimen bags, flashlights, protective boot covers, etc.; items that may be needed to go out on a call for bed bugs, home bound flu shots, communicable diseases, etc. A motion to approve the resolution and forward to the Full County Board was made by Coughtry; motion seconded by Braddock. Motion carried. 7. Update on Office Renovations and Other Improvements Office renovations have been done within the last two weeks with monies that were set aside for capital improvements in 2017. Some of the improvements are replacing old carpeting in two of the offices and three offices received a fresh coat of paint. Along with moving items around, we are cleaning out older files and storing files that aren’t needed. 8. Strategic Plan Update Health Departments are required by the State to do a Strategic Plan every five years outlining what areas the Health Department will be targeting in the next five years. Sara Wartman met with Michelle Simone, Environmental Health Sanitarian, to create a work plan designating which items will be done and a date they will be completed by. This workplan will be included on the next Board of Health meeting agenda. 9. WIC Update Recently at the state level, WIC has undergone many policy changes, specifically towards cracking down on fraud and abuse. Locally, the Bay Area WIC Project has experienced a recent string of new prenatal women enrolling, and nationally, WIC has unveiled their new logo and has a planned outreach campaign for April. The enrollment at the WIC office has remained steady. The “no-show” rate for our WIC project is at 6.2% versus the state rate of 8.3%, so we are doing well in that respect. The new guideline for income eligibility for WIC saw a 1.6% increase, which will hopefully allow new clients to become eligible for the program. The WIC database, ROSIE (Real-Time, Online, Statewide Information Environment) has recently had some updates, eliminating any repeated questions by the clerk, nurse or the nutritionist. Caloney Mesik, Public Health Nurse, has recently applied for a grant to purchase new signs for the WIC office, toys and other items to be used at satellite clinics. Kelsey talked about fraud and abuse in the WIC program, which consists mainly of the selling of infant formula on social media. This problem is being monitored and has to be reported to the state WIC office. 10. Discussion and Possible Action Regarding New Policies & Procedures Existing policies and procedures have been updated as time permits. Majority of them have been front office procedures and policies. 11. Discussion and Possible Action Regarding Radon Information Center Bayfield County is currently part of the regional Radon Information Center (RIC) based out of Taylor County Health Department, which provides services to Ashland, Bayfield, Iron, Lincoln, Price, Rusk and Taylor Counties. We have been providing our own education and outreach, purchasing and distributing radon test kits without any assistance from the RIC in Taylor County. We feel that we are not being served properly by the regional RIC. We feel that Bayfield County could be the RIC for the northern counties as we have two (2) professionals certified in radon measurement: Anne-Marie Coy and Michelle Simone, our Environmental Health Sanitarians. In becoming a RIC, we could provide education and training to Douglas, Sawyer, Ashland, Iron and Bayfield Counties. We would also be able to provide certification training to local contractors in radon mitigation. Our next step would be to contact the other northern counties to see if they are in support of Bayfield County taking on the role of regional RIC. The additional staff time needed to provide training and education would be kept to a minimum and additional revenue could be added by charging for local contractor trainings. Consensus to move forward was made by Chairman Strand. 12. Update Regarding Sharps Collection Program Many community members and coalition members have mentioned the difficulty in safely disposing of sharps containers. Many county residents have been dropping off containers of sharps at the Bayfield County Sheriff’s Office who then drops the containers off with the Health Department. Peter Morrissette, Public Health Educator, and Amanda Paulson, Community Health Nurse, had applied for a grant through Security Health for three (3) permanent drop boxes for pharmaceutical and sharps collection. We have been awarded the grant; the amount awarded is $12,000.00. We are looking at three (3) geographical locations for the drop boxes: Washburn, Bayfield and possibly Drummond, Barnes or Iron River. These drop box sites would need to have law enforcement presence for monitoring purposes. The drop boxes will be secure and built to certain specifications. The specific placement of these drop boxes has yet to be decided. Also included in the grant application was funds for advertising and outreach to the communities. After the initial funds are spent on the drop boxes, the subject of how to sustain the program was brought up. A strong working relationship with local law enforcement will be key. 13. Grant Updates In addition to the WIC mini-grant and the Security Health Sharps Collection grant, we have received a Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) Ebola mini-grant in the amount of $8,182.00, which was discussed earlier. This grant ends on June 30th, 2017 so staff have been busy trying to purchase items for this grant before it ends. 14. Other Issues: None. 15. Next Meeting Date: The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, August 8th, 2017, at 5:00 pm in the EOC. 16. Adjourn: The meeting adjourned at 5:17 pm. Respectfully Submitted, Amy Jarecki Amy Jarecki, Office Manager