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Home My WebLink AboutHealth Board - Minutes - 6/22/2021Bayfield 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, June 22, 2021 – 5:00 PM Present: Fred Strand, Jeremy Oswald, Tom Snilsberg, David Zepczyk, Terri Kramolis, Ellen Braddock, Mary Dougherty, Elaine Kopp, Deb Dryer (joined remotely at 5:45 p.m.) Staff: Amy Jarecki, Sara Wartman 1. Call the Meeting to Order: The meeting was called to order at 5:01 p.m. by Chairman Oswald. 2. Approval April 13, 2020, Meeting Minutes: A motion to approve the April 13, 2021 meeting minutes was made by Strand; motion seconded by Zepczyk. Motion carried. 3. Public Comment: None. 4. Situational Update and Discussion Regarding COVID-19 Recovery Phase & COVID-19 Vaccination Clinics: Health Director Sara Wartman shared that the number of positive Covid-19 cases is on a downward trajectory over the past two weeks. Fewer outbreaks are being detected with schools out of session and decent vaccine coverage among most adult workplaces. Majority of new positive COVID cases are among unvaccinated persons, typically younger population groups. All schools located in Bayfield County have been offered COVID-19 vaccinations for ages 12-18 in addition to school staff. In general, most people who have wanted to get a COVID vaccine have been able to; demand is very low for new unvaccinated clients. Clinics are dramatically slowing down at this point; we expect to take a brief hiatus from COVID vaccine clinics for the summer and initiate clinics again in the fall pending Emergency Use Authorization of Moderna and Pfizer vaccines in children under age 12. The Health Department is planning on offering both the influenza vaccine and the Covid-19 vaccine this fall in the schools. Wartman discussed the Delta variant and the fact that it has been found in our area since March. 5. Discussion and Possible Action Regarding ELC Enhancing Detection COVID Supplement Award: Bayfield County Health Department received grant funding in the amount of $448,500.00 from the State of Wisconsin Department of Health Services to provide critical resources in support of a broad range of Covid-19/SARS -CoV-2 testing and epidemiologic surveillance related activities. This includes increasing workforce capacity, vaccination, testing, laboratory capacity, infection control and contact tracing. Grant start date is October 1, 2020. Total award to be expended by October 31, 2022. There was discussion on planned expenses for this grant. A motion 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 was made to recommend the grant be moved to the full County Board for approval by Kopp; motion was seconded by Kramolis. Motion carried. 6. Discussion and Possible Action Regarding Approval of the 2020 Annual Health Department Report: Bayfield County Health Department completes annual reports as required by Wisconsin Statutes, Chapter 251.06(3)(h). The department uses the annual report as a means to track progress of identified program outcomes and health priorities. Motion to accept the Bayfield County Health Department 2020 Annual Report, with revisions, was made by Kopp; motion seconded by Snilsberg. Motion carried. 7. Update Regarding Community Health Needs Assessment: A Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) provides a strategic plan for working with community partners and stakeholders to address health priorities. Tax-exempt hospitals are required to conduct a CHNA every three years, and local health departments are required in Wisconsin to conduct Community Health Assessments (CHAs) every five years. Ashland, Bayfield and Iron Counties are partnering once again with Memorial Medical Center to conduct a CHNA/CHA. We have two Area Health Education Center (AHEC) Interns working in June-July to help develop our community health survey and outreach within our tri-county region to determine what our health focus should be for the next three years. 8. Bay Area Women, Infants & Children (WIC) Project Update: WIC Directory, Caloney Mesik shared updates on the Bay Area WIC program. WIC continues to operate via Telehealth or telephone appointments, with a waiver in place for in-person appointments through the end of August. Most families have seen remote appointments as a positive experience. WIC caseload is 542 participants, with a total of 318 families. Decrease in caseload is trending statewide. Increase in fruit & veggie dollars from $9-$11 to $35 per eligible participant from June-September. Farmer’s Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) check issuance started June 1st. Benefit is $30 for each eligible participant. 9. Update on Health Department Programs and Services: Health Department staff has continued to work on the COVID-19 response. Some public health activities and services have resumed as staffing and program guidelines have allowed, while others remain on hold. The Wisconsin National Guard testing events have not been renewed due to low demand at the Iron River testing site. This will be reevaluated in July along with the Emergency Management department. The Environmental Program has seen a huge surge in the number of Tourist Rooming Houses this last year, so our staff is very busy doing pre-inspections for new establishments and yearly inspections for licensing. They are also busy with food inspections for local events, such as Blueberry Fest and the Bayfield County Fair. There is an increase in the inspections as most were deferred last year due to Covid-19. DNR well water testing program in full swing. Peter Morrissette, water specialist, travels to Washburn and Taylor counties. Beach monitoring program has started and we have hired an intern who will be collection samples twice per week and posting if beach advisories or closures due to elevated bacteria levels. There is an 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 online survey that was created to promote the existing Narcan Direct Program at the Bayfield County Health Department. There has been a recent increase in drug overdoses in the county. 10. Update on Health Department Staffing: The full time RN position that was left open last month has been filled by one of the LTE (limited term employee) RN’s that was hired last fall to assist with Covid-19. Ashley Smith, RN will be working 2½ (two and a half) days per week. There is also a need for another part time RN as we are trying to fill what was a full-time position. There is no plan to advertise for another half time nursing position, however, with the Covid recovery act funds, we will be looking at a contracted full-time nurse to take over the Covid responsibilities so that the other nurses may resume normal programming. The Public Health Educator, Peter Morrissette, will be brought into the Environmental Health program to assist with the overwhelming number of licensed establishments in the county. The department will be looking to fill the vacant Public Health Educator role in the future. 11. Other Issues or Concerns: Wartman shared an update on the Bayfield County Infrastructure grant, which is a grant that Bayfield County gives to local communities to update their community infrastructure. 12. Next Meeting Date: Tuesday, Aug 10, 2021, 5:00 pm, in the Bayfield County EOC and remotely via Teams. 13. Adjourn: The meeting adjourned at 6:19 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Amy Jarecki Amy Jarecki, Office Manager