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Home My WebLink AboutHealth Board - Minutes - 8/10/2021Bayfield 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, August 10, 2021 – 5:00 PM Present: Fred Strand, Jeremy Oswald, Tom Snilsberg, David Zepczyk, Terri Kramolis, Ellen Braddock, Mary Dougherty, Elaine Kopp, Deb Dryer Staff: Amy Jarecki, Sara Wartman 1. Call the Meeting to Order: The meeting was called to order at 5:00 p.m. by Chairman Oswald. 2. Approval June 22, 2021, Meeting Minutes: A motion to approve the June 22, 2021 meeting minutes was made by Strand; motion seconded by Snilsberg. Motion carried. 3. Public Comment: None. 4. Presentation on Wisconsin Air Quality Monitoring Data As It Relates to Smoke from Wildfire Activity: Health Director Sara Wartman shared some resources on tracking the air quality due to the wildfire activity in Northern Minnesota and Canada. To find out more about air quality advisories in Wisconsin, go to: https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/AirQuality 5. Brief Overview of Wisconsin Respiratory Virus Surveillance Report: Wartman shared an overview of the Wisconsin Respiratory Virus Surveillance Report and trends for influenza like illness across Wisconsin and regionally. As of last week, Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) has been on the rise, with the positivity rate going from 4.0% to 8.4% in one week. Rhino/enterovirus and parainfluenza viruses were the predominating strain last week. Health Department Medical Director, Dr. Deb Dryer shared that the cost to run multiple tests for Covid-19 and influenza was a barrier to running the tests on all patients who present symptoms. To sign up for the weekly respiratory report, go to: https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/influenza/data.htm and click on the “Sign up” link in yellow. 6. Situational Update and Discussion Regarding COVID-19 Recovery Phase & COVID-19 Vaccination Clinics: COVID-19 cases across the nation are increasing, and concerns about the Delta variant are high among medical and public health professionals. Cases are on the incline in Bayfield County. We are experiencing some breakthrough cases. Wartman outlined what breakthrough cases are and why they occur as well as provided an overview on current vaccination rates in Bayfield County and implications to the broad community. Information was shared about the Delta variant and how it will affect vaccinated community members. 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 Key Resources:  The Wisconsin Department of Health Services website provides information across the State and by each county so you can see where we are at with case activity for COVID-19. COVID- 19: Activity Level by Region and County | Wisconsin Department of Health Services  For county specific data. COVID-19: County Data | Wisconsin Department of Health Services  For information on genomic sequencing in Wisconsin: WI SARS-CoV-2 Genomic Report (wisc.edu)  For more information on COVID data across the nation, including rates of community transmission and vaccination data. CDC COVID Data Tracker  Information on if you are fully vaccinated - when to wear a mask and what to do if you were a close contact of a positive case. When You’ve Been Fully Vaccinated | CDC 7. Discussion and Possible Action Regarding 2022 Budget: Wartman gave a review of Fiscal Year 2022 budget proposal including comparisons from FY2019 (actual), FY2020 (actual) and FY2021 (estimated). Overall, revenues are predicted to be above FY2019 but below FY 2021. This is due to uncertainty of changing funding streams and revenue due to the COVID pandemic. Expenditures are predicted to be below FY2021 but higher than FY 2020 due to inflationary costs and cost of living adjustments (COLA), as well as the sustained pandemic response. A motion to approve the 2022 Budget and present it to the Executive Committee was made by Strand; motion seconded by Kopp. Motion carried. 8. Discussion and Possible Action Regarding Fee Schedules: Wartman discussed the fee schedule of the department and whether there should be a slow increase in fees to coincide with inflation. County Administration proposes a 1.5-2% fee increase every year to parallel COLA (cost of living allowance). Discussion on current fee schedules for clinic, water testing, and DATCP/DSPS licensing fees for the Environmental Health program. The committee was on board with Wartman gathering more information from the Environmental Health staff and bringing those recommendations back to the board at a later date for more discussion. 9. Discussion and Possible Action Regarding WIC Outreach Award: Bayfield County Health Department has received grant funding in the amount of $3,600 from the State of Wisconsin Department of Health Services to provide WIC clinics with access to a comprehensive marketing campaign. This will provide a localized approach to increase brand awareness and drive enrollment among WIC-eligible audiences. Funds will be used for advertising. Grant start date is January 1, 2021. Total award to be expended by December 31, 2021. A motion was made to recommend the award to the full County Board by Kopp; motion seconded by Dougherty. Motion carried. 10. Discussion and Possible Action Regarding Taking Action with Data Grant Award: Bayfield County Health Department has received a grant in the amount of $8,117 from the Wisconsin Environmental Public Health Tracking Program to develop cooling and warming shelters in the county. Funds will be used for staffing, contractual services, and operating supplies. Intent of this grant is to prepare our communities for more frequent hot or cold weather events requiring public shelters for persons without power, heat, or air conditioning for a short amount of time. Total award to be expended by July 31, 2022. A 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 motion was made to recommend the grant to the full County Board by Kopp; motion seconded by Zepczyk. Motion carried. 11. Update Regarding Community Health Needs Assessment: Summer AHEC interns assisted Bayfield County Health Department, Ashland County Health & Human Services, Iron County Health Department, and Memorial Medical Center in conducting a Community Health Needs Assessment. At the end of their internship, they created a brief PowerPoint with their preliminary findings on the health needs of the community, which Wartman shared with the committee. 12. Update on Health Department Programs and Services: Wartman shared how the department is working on resuming programs and services at a time when the number of COVID cases is starting to rise again. The Health Department had taken a short break from COVID vaccine clinics, but there are plans to resume clinics soon as the request for vaccinations is increasing in the area. There will be COVID vaccinations available at the Bayfield County fair this year, which will be provided by the AMI immunization team based in Superior. 13. Update on Health Department Staffing: New COVID nurse, Heather Neuman, was hired and began on Monday, August 9th. This new position is intended to help with additional workload related to the COVID pandemic so that other nursing staff can resume some non- COVID programs and activities. 14. Committee Input: None. 15. Next Meeting Date: Tuesday, October 12, 2021, 5:00 pm, in the Bayfield County EOC and remotely via Teams. 16. Adjourn: The meeting adjourned at 6:29 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Amy Jarecki Amy Jarecki, Office Manager