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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHealth Board - Minutes - 7/14/2020Bayfield 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, July 14, 2020 – 5:00 PM Present: Fred Strand, Jeremy Oswald, Mary Dougherty, David Zepczyk, Terri Kramolis, Deb Dryer. Ellen Braddock, Elaine Kopp Absent: Tom Snilsberg Staff: Amy Jarecki, Sara Wartman 1. Call the Meeting to Order: The meeting was called to order at 5:07 p.m. by Chairman Oswald. Roll Call was done as this meeting was being held remotely. 2. Approval May 19, 2020, Meeting Minutes: A motion to approve the May 19, 2020 meeting minutes was made by Strand; motion seconded by Kramolis. Motion carried. 3. Public Comment: (Limited to 3 minutes per person, 30 minutes total) Lissa Flemming: Resident of City of Bayfield, volunteer EMT and owner of a small business in the City of Bayfield. Concerns about the language of the mask advisory and would like clarification. Mary Motiff: Has questions on the enforcement of the mask advisory. Suggested that the Health Department make signage available for businesses to post in regards to the mask advisory. Kate (last name not clear): Retired physician living in Washburn. Shared concern on availability of masks in the area. 4. Situational Update for COVID-19: Health Director, Sara Wartman, shared information on the COVID-19 situation including testing, prevention and number of positive cases in and around Bayfield County. Wartman discussed community spread of COVID-19, large group gatherings and the presence of out-of-town travelers to the area. Dr. Deb Dryer, Health Board Medical Advisor, shared information from the medical field. 5. Review of 2nd Quarter Budget: Wartman pointed out that due to the majority of the Health Department staff working on COVID-19, many of the normal programs have had to be put on the back burner. This has resulted in the total amount of expenditures showing a higher than normal figure, which was due to not having grant funding to pay for COVID-19 staff expense. There has since been grant funding that will allow the 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 department to cover all of these expenses, which will then even out the gap between the expenses and the revenues. 6. Discussion and Possible Action on Resolution to Accept Epidemiology and Laboratory (ELC) Capacity for Prevention and Control of Emerging Infectious Diseases COVID-19 Grant: Resolution to accept funds from Wisconsin Department of Health Services for prompt response to COVID-19 related to epidemiology, laboratory and informatics. Total amount awarded is $12,700, with the majority of funds being used for staffing, and is to be expended by September 30, 2021. The motion to approve the budget amendment resolution and move to the full County Board was made by Dryer; seconded by Kramolis. Motion carried. 7. Discussion and Possible Action on Resolution to Accept CARES COVID-19 Plan/Test/Tracing Grant: Resolution to accept funds from Wisconsin Department of Health Services for COVID-19 testing, contact tracing and quarantine. The grant is broken down into three focus areas, with $48,400 for testing, $30,000 for pandemic planning, and $129,408 for contact tracing. Total amount awarded from this grant is $220,508, with the majority of these funds being used for staffing related to the local COVID-19 response and is to be expended by December 31, 2020. The motion to approve the budget amendment resolution and move to the full County Board was made by Zepczyk; seconded by Kramolis. Motion carried. 8. Update on Health Department Programs and Services: Wartman shared that the majority of the staff time has been directed to the local COVID-19 response. Bayfield County had minimal positive cases since late March, which enabled the staff to resume work on day-to-day programs. However, with the recent uptick in positive cases, staff is pulled back to COVID-19 response. Testing sites around the county was discussed along with plans to partner with neighboring counties. The summer intern is assisting with beach sampling and meeting deliverables for the Tick Grant. The Narcan direct program has been halted due to COVID-19 response by our staff. The local WIC program is continuing to provide services by allowing visits to be done remotely, per the USDA guidelines. 9. Update on Health Department Staffing: Personnel Committee approved a 1.0 LTE Public Health Nurse position. This was formerly a 0.43 FTE position that has been vacant since January. Approval of transitioning over a 0.43 FTE from WIC to Health Department was approved in addition to hiring up to three LTE positions for contact tracing. In the process of developing job descriptions for posting positions online. 10. Discussion Regarding COVID-19 Local Plans: Wisconsin Department of Health Services is working to develop a statewide COVID-19 Response Plan template available for local health departments. The Bayfield County COVID-19 Response Plan is currently underway but is a living document subject to change as the recommendations and best practices from CDC and Wisconsin DHS or WHO change. Examples of areas for coverage include surveillance, patient interview, contact tracing, testing, mitigation, staffing roles/responsibilities, mass vaccination, personal protective equipment, and prevention practices. The response plan is an opportunity to identify local gating criteria 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 for when certain functions or events would be considered lower risk and when they would be inadvisable. A motion to open up public comment was made by Braddock; seconded by Dougherty. Motion carried. Colleen (last name not given): Commented on youth sports and the practices possibly being outdoors. Spoke in favor of mask mandate, especially for the schools. Also believes that the mass gathering order should be less than the proposed 250 (two hundred fifty) people. Kate (last name not clear): Commented on the fact that the Health Department has many programs it cannot focus on at the moment due to the COVID-19 response. (Some of this conversation was unable to be heard due to caller being on a cell phone and the service cutting out.) Angie (last name not clear): Resident of Cornucopia. Concerned with the number of people frequenting local businesses not wearing masks. Mary Jo Tuckwell: Complimented Wartman on being logical and strategical in looking at the rural communities and being able to respond to the pandemic. Olaf Kirsten: Local teacher and coach. Spoke in favor of a mask mandate. Shared changes in soccer practices that have been made. Lissa Flemming: Voiced concern over waiting to issue a mask mandate. A motion to close public comment was made by Dougherty; seconded by Dryer. Motion carried. 11. Other Issues or Concerns: None 12. Next Meeting Date: Next meeting set for Tuesday, August 11th, 2020, 5:00 pm, remotely. 13. Adjourn: The meeting adjourned at 7:21 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Amy Jarecki Amy Jarecki, Office Manager