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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024/01/23 - Board of Health MASON COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH PROCEEDINGS 411 North 51'Street,Shelton,WA January 23,2024 Attendance: Randy Neatherlin,County Commissioner;Kevin Shutty,County Commissioner;Sharon Trask, County Commissioner;Dr.Keri Gardner,Health Officer;Peggy VanBuskirk,Hospital District No.2;Miguel Gutierrez,City of Shelton;David Windom,Public Health and Community Services Director;Ian Tracy, Environmental Health Manager;Melissa Casey,Community Health Manager;Christina Muller-Shinn, Community Health Program Assistant;Rachel Hook,WIC Coordinator;McKenzie Smith,Clerk of the Board; and Dedrick Allen,MasonWebTV 1. Chair Shutty called the meeting to order at 3:02 p.m. 2. Approval of Agenda Cmmr.Neatherlin/Cmmr.Trask moved and seconded to approve the agenda with the addition of the selection of Chair and Vice-Chair after and to enter into contract with the Department of Health and Clark County for backup Health Officers. Motion carried. 3. Approval of Minutes Cmmr.Trask/Peggy VanBuskirk moved and seconded to approve the minutes as presented. Motion carried. 4. Selection of Chair and Vice-Chair Cmmr. Shutty nominated Cmmr.Neatherlin as Chair. Motion carried. Cmmr.Trask nominated Keri Davidson as Vice-Chair. Motion carried. 5. Department of Health Contract and Clark County Health Officer Contract Dave discussed the contract with the Department of Health and the contract with Clark County for alternate Health Officers. Cmmr. Shutty/Peggy VanBuskirk moved and seconded to contract with the Department of Health for an alternate Health Officer. Motion carried. Peggy VanBuskirk/Cmmr. Shutty moved and seconded to contract with Clark County for an alternate Health Officer. Motion carried. 6. Health Officer Report Dr.Keri Gardner shared funding will be awarded through the Syndemic Grant from Washington State in June for$185k. This will be used to start clinical services such as Hepatitis C,purchasing a van to deliver these services,and hire a Pro Re Neta(PRN)or Registered Nurse(RN)to administer those services. A more detailed plan depends on the skillset of the individual hired. Dr.Gardner shared that she accepted a position in Utah at a free clinic as Chief Medical Officer but will continue as Health Officer until a replacement can be found. Dr.Gardner also discussed communicable diseases. There is a mumps outbreak in Philadelphia. No new cases of tuberculosis have occurred;however there are still high rates of latent tuberculosis. There was a spike in COVID in late December and early January. Influenza A and B are circulating widely. It is encouraged to get the flu vaccine. 7. Administration Report Dave discussed the year end financial report. Cash flow is typical. There was a large increase in revenue in August from the late influx of new Foundational Public Health Services(FPHS)money. Money was sent back at the end of 2023 due to using COVID money. This year more FPHS funds will be spent. There has been a high fund balance. In the spring the Treasurer took out funds for investments. Fund balance by revenue source:State funding 32%,Federal funding 32%;opioid settlement 9%;County contributions 8%;and fees and permits 22%. Higher revenue months correspond with incoming FPHS funding. Contracts will be renewed the first week of July. The negative in December is due to funds sent back to the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS). Local Public Health jurisdictions,the Department of Health,and the State Board of Health all have to agree on the disbursement of funds or funding will not be available. Expended funds were less than budgeted. Expenses are salaries and wages 41%,benefits 18%,services 33%,and internal 5%. A breakdown of spending per person per fund type is also available. There is$218k in opioid funding. Public Health is working with North Mason on prevention. There is potential to use some of the funding for the clinical service program and substance use programs. The City of Shelton signed an Interlocal Agreement with the County to combine settlement dollars. It has been a typical flu year. It is predicted to have around 150 flue deaths across the state. There is nothing in the epidemic status. Peggy added that there ha�been wRespiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV)problems either. Dave shared after January 31 there will be no more tests ordered from the State. There has not been a lot of need for vaccinations. Tracking is being done differently. There is now an influenza.-like illness dashboard which shows flu,RSV,and COVID. The protocol for COVID has not changed. If you test positive and are symptomatic you need to stay home for five days. You must be fever free for 24 hours. When returning to work you must wear a mask for five days. 8. Environmental Health Report Ian shared Inspect2Go,a fully online food inspection program,should be ready to implement at the end of February/beginning of March. Rabies vaccination clinics are being explored and funding is being looked into. License renewals and annual reports are in process. The$233k South Sound Grant contract from Pierce County was received for water quality. $40k is for scope and permit application for replacement of grinder stations in the North Bay area. The remaining funding would be used for pollution identification and hiring a two-year temporary water quality specialist. A copy of a draft regulation for the drinking water code was provided. Part of the regulation is from Water Resource Inventory Area(WRIA)requirements and the Hirst Response regarding the Growth Management Act. This part of the regulation will move from County Code Title 6 to Title 17. The remainder is small changes to update language,minimum amount of water required for a home from 800 gallons per day to 400 gallons per day per connection. This will be consistent with neighboring jurisdictions. Another change is when connecting to a Group B Water System a satisfactory bacteria test must be done. Ian provided an update on a potential abatement fund. There is no funding mechanism for solid waste abatements on properties. FPHS funding is a potential idea. The way the County Code is written is if an abatement is done and not paid back,the property would be foreclosed upon and go up for tax title sale. It is not recommended to remove that from the County Code. There is a mechanics lien where when the property sells,the lien will be paid. The lien type referred to in the County Code would require the property to go to tax title sale. 9. Community Health Report Melissa shared there is an emphasis to get the Community Health report data available in real time on the dashboard on the Public Health page and www.healthymasoncounty.com. Some of the biggest priorities is meeting with the Epidemiologists to evaluate current programs to assess if the intent and purpose of those programs are being met and if there is room for improvement. There are reports available on Housing and Treatment Sales Tax(TST). A nurse position is being transitioned from COVID to bringing Public Health into the community for chronic disease prevention,work with the YMCA obesity prevention program,fall prevention for seniors,and reaching out to community partners to figure out how to make programs more accessible. Rachel shared flyers for the WIC launch date on March 1. WIC will be open Mondays,Wednesdays, and Fridays at the YMCA. Rachel will be participating in the Farmer's Market Nutrition Program and will be giving out food program benefits for up to$86 for fresh fruits and vegetables. World Breastfeeding Week will be celebrated in August and an event will be planned at the YMCA with goodies to be passed out for free. 53%of all babies born in America are born on WIC. Cmmr.Neatherlin suggested partnering with Jeremy Hicks for a fall prevention program. Christina shared a report on historical trends with the five-year syringe exchange program. There has been a total of 2,236 engagements. 749 have been unique individuals. On average individuals are getting supplies for 3.7 people. 8%of engagements did not receive syringes but received Naloxone or wound care. About 1 million syringes have been exchanged. 19%of individuals received a behavioral health referral,21%received a referral to recovery support. 72%of individuals are white, 23%American Indian and Alaskan Native. 20%go to Belfair,24%Skokomish,and 55%Kamilche. 17%of individuals experienced or knew someone who experienced an overdose in the last thirty days. 44%of visits received Naloxone. In 2023,over 2,000 Naloxone kits were distributed and there were 444 successful opioid overdose reversals. 56%of visits request fentanyl test strips and about 56% receive wound care supplies. Needle litter is reduced significantly when there are syringe exchange services available. 2020 is when there was a large onset of illicit fentanyl and overdose rates skyrocketed. There was also a big shift in drug use administration from injection to smoking. 10. Other Business and Board Discussion Dave shared Public Health is getting ready to do the"Point-in-Time"(PIT)Count on January 26 and January 27 is the Blue Zones kickoff. Melissa added the PIT Count is coordinated by Crossroads Housing and Youth Protection. There will be pop-up resource fairs in downtown Shelton and in Belfair. 11. Public Comments Constance Ibsen asked if there will be wastewater testing done in the North Mason/Belfair treatment plant for diseases? The biosolids department shared a grant for rural utilities to apply for and receive a free automatic sampler and flower meter package. 12. Adjourned at 4:25 p.m. ATTEST MASON COUNTY, WASHINGTON BOARD OF HE TH CO , WASHINGTON '1 \C��lLYVVYXl4 McKenzie Smi'lli,Cl of the Board Darrin Moody,Ho al District#1 i Miguel Gutierrezj ity Council I. Kevin Shutty, Co t issioner Ran Neather missioner Sharon Trask,Commissioner V4� Peggy Buskirk,Hospital District#2 -U*CL1, Gary Plews, Fire Commissioner YM onm n-a,o 4- Keri Davids6fi, Sh on School B64d