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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHealth Board - Minutes - 2/18/2020Bayfield County Health Department 117 East Sixth Street - P.O. Box 403 - Washburn, WI 54891 Phone: 715/373-6109 Fax: 715/373-6307 Sara Wartman, BSN, RN, CLS Director / Health Officer BAYFIELD COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH MEETING Tuesday, February 18, 2020 – 5:00 PM EOC Present: Fred Strand, Jeremy Oswald, Jeff Silbert, David Zepczyk, Terri Kramolis, Deb Dryer (in at 5:21 p.m.) Absent: Tom Gordon, Elaine Kopp, Ellen Braddock Staff: Amy Jarecki, Sara Wartman 1. Call the Meeting to Order: The meeting was called to order at 5:05 p.m. by Chairman Oswald. Introductions were done as there were a number of public members in attendance. 2. Approval December 10, 2019, Meeting Minutes: A motion to approve the December 10, 2019 meeting minutes was made by Strand; motion seconded by Silbert. Motion carried. 3. Public Comment: (Limited to 3 minutes per person, 30 minutes total) Rebecca Nielson – Town of Bayview resident; addressed the fear component and statistics in favor of vaccination choice. Laura Jennerman – Town of Mason resident; she spoke in favor of vaccination choice. Sara Grande – Bayfield county resident; cited different studies she had found in favor of non vaccination of children. Kailee Marten – Town of Barksdale resident; spoke about the right to choose to vaccine children. Yuliya Welk – Originally from Russia, resides in Cable; talked about dangers of vaccines, citing studies in other countries. Kim Suske – Town of Bayview resident; spoke about the right to choose which vaccinations, if any, are to be given to your child. Anne Smith – Registered Nurse with 34 years of practice; cited research she had done on vaccine safety. Spoke about the right to choose to vaccinate children. Bayfield County Health Department 117 East Sixth Street - P.O. Box 403 - Washburn, WI 54891 Phone: 715/373-6109 Fax: 715/373-6307 Sara Wartman, BSN, RN, CLS Director / Health Officer Debbie Schwantes – City of Washburn resident, mother of 3 school aged children; spoke in support about those children with compromised immunity systems, including her own child, and the safety of those children in the schools. Rachel Simms – Town of Bell resident; spoke in favor of personal choice. Motion to extend public input time as needed made by Silbert; seconded by Zepczyk. Motion carried. Alyssa Knutson – Resident of Cable; spoke about the possible connection between vaccinations and food allergies in children; the number of adverse reactions in children, citing information she had read. 4. Presentation on School-Required Immunizations and Personal Conviction Waivers: Sara Wartman, Health Director presented information on school and day care center required immunizations. These requirements do not apply to those children who are home-schooled or who attend school remotely i.e. online courses, as long as the child does not participate in extra curricular activities in a public school setting. Students are required to be up-to-date on 9 of the 16 CDC (Centers for Disease Control) recommended disease preventable diseases. In the the state of Wisconsin, parents can currently waive for personal conviction, medical or religious purposes. As of June 2019, Wisconsin is 1 of 16 states that allows a personal conviction waiver. Wartman listed the required immunizations and explained what they protected against. Wartman shared the immunization waiver form that parents need to fill out at the start of each school year. Wartman discussed the reason for the required vaccinations and the life threatening diseases they prevent. Wartman briefly talked about adverse reactions to vaccines and how they are reported. In one per two million people, there may be a serious adverse reaction to a vaccine. Wartman shared that Bayfield County has very low immunization rates and higher than state average personal conviction waiver rates. Wartman shared the names of organizations around the state of Wisconsin in favor of supporting the removal of the personal conviction waiver. 5. Discussion and Possible Action Regarding Resolution In Support of Removal of Personal Exemption Waiver in Wisconsin Schools and Day Care Centers: Motion to approve the resolution in support of removal of personal exemption waiver in Wisconsin schools and day care centers and forwarded to the full County Board with the recommendation to approve was made by Strand; motion seconded by Dryer. Motion carried with one opposition. 6. Discussion and Possible Action Regarding Revision of WIC iPad/Tablet Grant Resolution: Amy Jarecki, Office Manager, shared the reason for the revision was to clarify the start date of the grant. Initially the start date was thought to be in November of 2019, but the actual start date was revealed later on to be January 1, 2020. The first draft did not get presented before the full County Board. Motion to accept this revision Bayfield County Health Department 117 East Sixth Street - P.O. Box 403 - Washburn, WI 54891 Phone: 715/373-6109 Fax: 715/373-6307 Sara Wartman, BSN, RN, CLS Director / Health Officer and forward on to the full County Board was made by Kramolis; seconded by Dryer. Motion carried. 7. Discussion and Possible Action Regarding Revision of WIC Infrastructure Grant Resolution: Amy Jarecki, Office Manager, shared the reason for the revision was to clarify the start date of the grant. Initially the start date was thought to be in November of 2019, but the actual start date was revealed later on to be January 1, 2020. The first draft did not get presented before the full County Board. Motion to accept this revision and forward on to the full County Board was made by Kramolis; seconded by Dryer. Motion carried. 8. Review of 2019 4th Quarter Budget: The 4th Quarter Budget was discussed. 9. Discussion and Possible Action Regarding Revision of 2019 Budget Amendments: The motion to approve the budget amendment resolution was made by Strand; seconded by Kramolis. Motion carried. 10. Discussion Regarding Reproductive Health - Family Planning Program and Advanced Services: Wartman shared the services the health department provides through the reproductive health – family planning program and the roadblocks that have been encountered along the way. Wartman is looking for ways to expand services and would like to partner with a nurse practitioner in the future. 11. Update on Health Department Staffing: Jordan Virshek, part-time public health nurse resigned her position. The department will look at hiring for that position as a .43 FTE, instead of a .50 FTE, which would be 16 hours per week worked. There has been an interview and possibly an offer of employment may be sent out soon. 12. Update on Health Department Programs and Services: The Health Department has been sharing information with the Bayfield County Zoning Department in regards to tourist rooming houses around the county, which has been working well. The Health Department has picked up Taylor County well water testing as a substitute for losing the contract for Sawyer County well water testing. Peter Morrissette, Public Health Educator/Drinking Water Specialist will be traveling to Taylor County to gather the water samples. The contract will be for one year, not the usual two years. The department started using an online credit card payment system, which will be used mostly for business operators to pay for their yearly license renewal fees. The department has been utilizing an assistance program thru GSK for administering the shingles vaccine as it is expensive and not always covered by Medicare. Health Department staff is keeping up to date on the Coronavirus situation by listening to state DHS (Department of Health Services) and CDC phone calls and webinars. Staff is also keeping up on the influenza and norovirus situation in the community. Wartman shared the steps being taken at this point to prepare for a Coronavirus outbreak in the community. There is a program that will allow the department to provide Narcan nasal spray to county residents at no cost. Two staff members have been trained. Wartman is looking at applying for an overdose opioid community prevention grant to assist the efforts in tackling the opioid overdose issue in the county. Wellness activities continue Bayfield County Health Department 117 East Sixth Street - P.O. Box 403 - Washburn, WI 54891 Phone: 715/373-6109 Fax: 715/373-6307 Sara Wartman, BSN, RN, CLS Director / Health Officer with the new employee health insurance. Health Infrastructure grant is going to be accessible online again this year. 13. Other Issues or Concerns: More discussion on immunizations. Strand would like Wartman to give a presentation at the next County Board meeting. Members asked for more statistics on the matter. 14. Next Meeting Date: Tuesday, April 14th, 2019, 5:00 pm, in the EOC. 15. Adjourn: The meeting adjourned at 7:26 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Amy Jarecki Amy Jarecki, Office Manager