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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018/07/24 - BOH Packet MASON COUNTY COMMUNITY SERVICES Building,Planning,Environmental Health,Community Health 117NPUBLIC EALTH MASON COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH ® REGULAR MEETING July 24, 2018 3:00 PM Commission Chambers 411 North Fifth Street Shelton, WA 98584 DRAFT AGENDA 1. Welcome and Introductions Scott Hilburn Chair 2. Approval of Agenda—ACTION Board Members 3. Approval of Minutes March 27, 2018—ACTION Board Members &May 22, 2018 4. Health Officer Report Dr. Diana Yu a. Opioid discussion b. Other 5. Community Health Report Lydia Buchheit 6. Administration Report Dave Windom 7. Environmental Health Report Alex Paysee 8. Annual Report Board Members 9. Other Business and Board Discussion Board Members 10. Public Comments 11. Adjourn If special accommodations are needed,please contact Melissa Drewry,427-9670,Ext.589. From the Belfair area,please dial 275-4467,Ext.589;from the Elma area please dial 482-5269,Ext.589. Mason County Public Health 415 N 6th Street, Bldg 8,Shelton WA 98584, Shelton: (360)427-9670 ext 400 ❖ Belfair:(360)275-4467 ext 400 ❖ Elma:(360)482-5269 ext 400 FAX (360)427-7787 MASON COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH PROCEEDINGS 411 North 5`s Street,Shelton,WA March 27,2018 Attendance: Randy Neatherlin,County Commissioner;Terri Drexler.County Commissioner;Scott Hilburn, Hospital District#1;Peggy VanBuskirk,Hospital District#2;Gary Plews,Fire Commissioner; Kathy McDowell,City of Shelton Commissioner,Keri Davidson,Shelton School Board. Others in attendance:Dr.Yu,Abe Gardner,Lydia Buchheit,Allison Smallwood,Audry O'connor,Ben Johnson,Debbie Riley,Christina Muller-Shinn. Absent:Kevin Shutty,County Commissioner 1. Chair Scott Hilburn called the meeting to order at 3:00 p.m. 2. Approval of Agenda—Peggy/Cmmr.Drexler moved and seconded to approve the agenda as written.All in favor.Motion carried unanimously. 3. Approval of Minutes of January 23,2018—Scott Hilburn asked to amend the minutes,adding Dr.Yu to those in attendance.Peggy/Cmmr.Drexler moved and seconded to approve the minutes as amended.All in favor.Motion carried unanimously. 4. Health Officer Report-Dr.Yu briefly talked about influenza B. She then introduced Abe Gardner and Christina Muller-Shinn,Allison Smallwood,Audry O'connor,Ben Johnson,Debbie Riley,and Lydia Buchheit from Public Health. Abe Gardner showed a power point presentation regarding a Syringe Exchange Pilot Program within Mason County.He discussed reasons an exchange would be beneficial such as preventing the spread of blood borne pathogens,less risk of transmission of HIV and Hepatitis C,fewer syringes on the streets,and fewer deaths from opioid overdose. Debbie Riley discussed the cost of take back boxes.The box is$925 plus shipping.The plastic tote bins which go into the main collection box are$12.95 each.Cost for time and materials to mount the boxes would be$75 to$100 which includes the concrete and labor and can be done by County maintenance. Logos and instructions would be$300-$400.Debbie said she spoke to Bart Stepp regarding disposal of the used syringes.He voiced concern regarding the safety of his employees,but said he believed they could come up with a viable solution. Dr.Yu said the syringe collection boxes are concerning because the boxes need to be emptied on a regular basis,then stored until they can be shipped for disposal.Thurston County is currently using a 10 foot trailer to store and lock up used syringes until they can be transferred to a disposal site. Chief Darrin Moody from the Shelton Police Department said they don't just take drug syringes,but also needles from diabetics,and even from citizens that are taking care of others.He said those within the City of Shelton are welcome to bring syringes in to the police department for disposal.Dr.Yu stated that Stericycle is the company that picks up the used syringes from City of Shelton.She said the sharps containers are around 17 gallons each and cost$25 to dispose of. Abe returned to his presentation and touched on safety for law enforcement officers.Dr.Yu noted that she spoke to a department in Louisville Kentucky who has a policy stating if a person admits to having a syringe on them at the time of arrest,they will not be charged for having the paraphernalia on them. Cmmr.Drexler questioned officer moody if it is common practice to question people if they have a needle. He said it is common practice and talked about the difference between a loaded needle versus an empty needle and officer safety. Abe said the ideal exchange,to begin,would be mobile with a fixed route with access to naloxone kits, health education materials,and drug treatment resources.Start up costs would include liability insurance, the cost of a vehicle,staff(0.4 FTE$40,000),supplies(300,000 syringes would cost$26,000),and cell phones.Dr.Yu added that.4 FTE is the bare minimum to hire someone.Ongoing costs would include the BOARD OF HEALTH PROCEEDINGS March 27,2018-PAGE 2 vehicle,supplies,staff,storage locations for clean and used needles,and the cost of disposing the used syringes. Dr.Yu then passed out information from Kitsap County,Grays Harbor County,and Thurston County about their costs for exchange programs.In 2016 Grays Harbor County spent$13,000 to dispose of 760,000 collected syringes through Stericycle.Kitsap County,who also uses Stericycle has a projected budget of $85,000 for 2018.Thurston County has a Conex trailer in a transfer station for their syringes.Their budget for 2018 is$1,500.Dr.Yu noted that the Washington State Department of Health can offer some financial assistance,but the complete cost to run the program would be between$100,000-$150,000. Abe noted that Public Health has contacted various community leaders and stakeholders for input and feedback on an exchange program,which has led to great discussion.He invited anybody with questions to contact him at A a� r�nu,co.mason.wa.us or at 360-427-9670 ext. 131. Scott questioned what impact an exchange had on keeping used needles off the streets.Abe said he did not have exact data,but that other Counties have noted a positive impact. Dr.Yu said Thurston County did note less syringes,though admittedly,they are still found on streets. She said they began marking the syringes being handed out to find out if they were being littered.They found that those handed out were not being disposed of on the streets. Cmmr.Drexler asked about the reduction of HIV&Hepatitis C,along with how many of those using an exchange program got help or went into recovery.Dr.Yu explained that the goal is to keep the numbers low and prevent an outbreak such as the one in Scott County,Indiana. Scott asked what the next move would be.Dr.Yu stated that first comes education,which is needed regardless.Next,is support from the Board of Health(BOH)to motion forward movement to Dave so the program can be briefed with the Board of County Commissioners(BOCC). She said the target is to start the program in September. Scott suggested a motion be made to move forward,and to have the exchange program return to the BOH if the BOCC cannot fund it. Peggy/Gary moved and seconded to direct Dave Windom and staff to move forward with a Syringe Exchange Pilot Program and to discuss budget options with the Board of County Commissioners. Cmmr.Drexler abstained,motion carried. 5. Community Health Report-Lydia Buchheit went through her report and touched on Communicable Disease and Notifiable Conditions,Treatment Sales tax,and Point in Time data touching on homelessness in Mason County. Ben discussed the new North Mason Prevention Coalition and their first meeting.He addressed the problem with huffmg and air duster cans within Mason County.He said that the air cans are being stolen from many stores in the area and the fact that there has been one overdose so far.Chief Moody discussed simple options that large stores such as Wal-Mart and Safeway could help with like locking up spray paint, and canned air.Unfortunately due to their size and corporate status,Wal-Mart is no longer on board with locking up the cans. Chief Moody stated that huffing is a problem across all age groups. Ben presented a draft letter to local stores asking to have the canned air and poppers locked up or removed from the shelves. Cmmr.Neatherlin asked to have the letter brought forward to the BOCC for briefing. BOARD OF HEALTH PROCEEDINGS March 27,2018-PAGE 3 Lydia discussed the Comprehensive Opioid Program Grant. She and Abe went to Washington D.0 at the beginning of March for orientation and training. She praised the program and the flexibility towards what the County.needs.She said that Mason County is the only West Coast County that was awarded this grant, and is also the smallest county awarded. Abe was asked by the director of the conference to speak at the next national conference this summer.Lydia asked that the BOH support the grant project to coordinate services around the entire county. Peggy/Kathy moved and seconded to support the grant project.Cmmr.Neatherlin, Scott Hilburn- Nay.Motion carried. Scott noted that he was not familiar with the program and asked for more information at a future meeting. Cmmr.Neatherlin and Lydia had a discussion about a similar program collecting similar data in Kitsap County. Emergency preparedness-Region 3 of coalition of Emergency Preparedness Partners has been informed by that they will be dissolving coalitions around the state and creating only two regions for the state of Washington.The west side region will be operating out of Seattle. She said that the Region 3 coalition is made up of five counties and is very large and active and wants to stay operational even without funding. She requested that the BOH draft a letter of support to the State. Cmmr.Drexler stated that she would like to know the Legislative intent with this dissolution.Lydia noted there is still discussion. Scott said the BOH would likely support this,but would like more information at the next meeting. 6. Administration Report- Not discussed. 7. Environmental Health Report-Debbie Riley discussed the drinking water program and her hopes for the programs growth in Mason County. 8. County Health Rankings-Allison Smallwood presented a power point presentation regarding health ranking throughout Washington State.Currently,Mason County is ranked 28 out of 39 in the state.The following statistics were discussed: • Length of life-Mason County has improved in premature death.In 2018 the rate was 7,500 per 100,000 • Physical fitness in the County has gone down.In 2018,31%of people were obese in Mason County.The chart is based on a BMI over 30. • Sexually Transmitted Infections have gone up:372.3 per 100,000 • Preventable Hospital Stays have improved 35 per 1,000 hospital stays were preventable. • High School Graduation-Mason County has improved.74%of ninth-grade students are graduating. • Children in poverty-the number has gone up.23%of children under the age of 18 are living in poverty. • Unemployment-The numbers have remained the same since 2017 at 7.8%. • Violent Crime-Improvement:231 crimes per 100,000.The definition of"violent crime"was questioned. Lydia clarified that violent crimes were defined as offenses that involve face to face confrontation between the victim and perpetrator including homicide,rape,robbery and aggravated assault. • Drug overdose deaths currently at 20 per 100,000. Scott asked for an opinion of what should be worked on to make a change.Lydia suggested the needle exchange program would be a good start. BOARD OF HEALTH PROCEEDINGS March 27,2018-PAGE 4 9. Workforce participation rate-Cmmr.Drexler stated that the current workforce participation rate is 45%. Targets for good employment within Counties should be between 55-65%.Discussion was had regarding possible causes. 10. Public Health Week Proclamation—Peggy/Keri moved and seconded to support the Public Health Week Proclamation as presented.All in favor.Motion carried unanimously. 11. Other Business and Board Discussion-None 12. Public Comments-None 13. Adjourn-4:58 p.m. ATTEST MASON COUNTY,WASHINGTON BOARD OF HEALTH MASON COUNTY,WASHINGTON Melissa Drewry,Clerk of the Board Scott Hilburn,Hospital District#1 Kathy McDowell,City Commissioner Kevin Shutty,Commissioner Randy Neatherlin,Commissioner Terri Drexler,Commissioner Peggy Van Buskirk,Hospital District#2 Gary Plews,Fire Commissioner Keri Davidson,Shelton School Board MASON COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH PROCEEDINGS 411 North 5th Street,Shelton,WA May 22,2018 Attendance: Randy Neatherlin,County Commissioner;Kevin Shutty,County Commissioner;Terri Jeffreys. County Commissioner;Eileen Branscome,Hospital District#1;Peggy VanBuskirk,Hospital District#2; Kathy McDowell,City of Shelton Commissioner Absent: Gary Plews,Fire Commissioner;Keri Davidson, Shelton School Board Others in attendance:Dr.Yu,Abe Gardner,Lydia Buchheit,Allison Smallwood,Debbie Riley,Christina Muller-Shinn,Audry O'connor 1. Chair Scott Hilburn called the meeting to order at 3:01 p.m. 2. Approval of Agenda—Dave asked to add a resolution to the agenda after the minutes.Peggy/Cmmr. Shutty moved and seconded to accept the agenda with the addition of a resolution. Approval of March 27,2018 Minutes—Peggy questioned the sentence at the top of page 4,which reads "Cmmr. Drexler stated that workforce participation rate is 45%. Targets for good employment sit around 55-65%. Discussion was had regarding possible causes." She and Cmmr.Drexler had a discussion and Scott suggested to make that topic its own item and to move each numerical item down after that.Peggy agreed with this suggestion. Cmmr.Drexler/Peggy moved and seconded to approve the minutes as amended.Motion carried. 3. Resolution 33-18-Lydia discussed the resolution and asked to address the board composition of the Mason County Housing and Behavioral Health Advisory Board on Housing,Homelessness,Mental Health,and Chemical Dependency Treatment because a member of Board of Health is needed. She noted that this board will be different because they will advise the Board of County Commissioners(BOCC)on funding priorities for mental health and housing.Peggy questioned the necessary time commitment and requirements of being a member.After discussion was had,Scott asked Peggy if she would be willing to sit on the board,to which she answered yes. Cmmr.Drexler/Shutty moved and seconded to nominate Peggy VanBuskirk to sit on the Mason County Housing and Behavioral Health Board on Housing,Homelessness,Mental Health,and Chemical Dependency Treatment as the Board of Health representative. 4. Environmental Health Report—Debbie Riley read her submitted staff report aloud noting it would be the last staff report and last Board of Health meeting before her retirement in June. 5. Health Officer Report—Dr.Yu spoke about a meeting she attended for the Mason County Healthcare Coalition,adding that she would forward a copy of the minutes to each of the BOH members. She talked about who should be involved with coalition meetings such as the Tribes and Schools.Cmmr.Drexler agreed that the Tribe should be contacted.Dr.Yu mentioned that she had reached out earlier in the day and was waiting on an answer. Scott asked if Dr.Yu could present a list of priorities that would align the BOH and the Coalition at the next BOH meeting. She voiced her concerns in creating the list noting that this has been done in the past without action. 6. Community Health Report—Lydia Buchheit spoke about the Emergency Preparedness Coalition structure,noting that after the next meeting she would have more information. BOARD OF HEALTH PROCEEDINGS May 22,2018-PAGE 2 Allison Smallwood presented a"Safe Syringe Disposal Video"the department prepared.Allison and Dr. Yu talked about what kind of containers could be used to store used syringes.Allison stated that bottles with secured lids such as detergent bottles or kitty litter bottles work best. Lydia presented a PowerPoint about a syringe exchange program in Mason County. Currently,they are seeking funding and are attempting to do so through the Department of Health,CPAA and Squaxin Island Tribe. Christina Muller-Shinn gave a brief demonstration on how to administer Naloxone,and discussed the Washington State Good Samaritan Overdose Laws.Various stores throughout the county have Naloxone kits available at the pharmacy. Audry O'Connor spoke about overdoses in Mason County and the effect Naloxone has had. In 2017,there were 16 reported non-fatal opioid overdoses and five fatal opioid overdoses. In 2018,there have been I I reported non-fatal opioid overdoses and 0 fatal opioid overdoses. Abe Gardner discussed the Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Program Federal Grant(COAP)and how it is moving forward. 7. Administration Report—Dave Windom addressed various grants and discussed both the amounts and how the funds will be used. 8. Other Business and Board Discussion—Funding for a needle exchange was discussed.Lydia stated that they are currently working to find grants and other monetary options. 9. Public Comments-Tom Davis spoke about a proposed veterans housing village for 30 homes.He spoke about some unanticipated problems they faced and announced a special upcoming meeting being held by the City of Shelton. 10. Adjourn-Meeting adjourned at 4:31 p.m. BOARD OF HEALTH PROCEEDINGS May 22,2018-PAGE 3 ATTEST MASON COUNTY,WASHINGTON BOARD OF HEALTH MASON COUNTY,WASHINGTON Melissa Drewry,Clerk of the Board Scott Hilburn,Hospital District#1 Kathy McDowell,City Commissioner Kevin Shutty,Commissioner Randy Neatherlin,Commissioner Terri Drexler,Commissioner Peggy Van Buskirk,Hospital District#2 Gary Plews,Fire Commissioner • I 44t = • rt ilk,M May-June 2018 Communicable Disease & Notifiable Conditions (3 programs-CD,TB,STD) May-June,our communicable disease(CD) program nurse received 99 reports requiring data entry into the State database,and/or investigation and follow-up. Total to Disease May-June date Campylobacteriosis 9 23 Cryptosporidiosis 0 2 Giardiasis 0 1 Hepatitis A 0 0 Hepatitis B 0 0 Hepatitis B-Chronic 0 2 HepatitisC-Chronic 26 82 Hepatitis C-Acute 0 0 Lyme 0 1 Pertussis 0 1 Salmonellosis 1 2 Tuberculosis-Ruled out 3 4 Tuberculosis-Latent new/open 0/0 0/1 Tuberculosis-Active new/open 0/0 0/1 Vibriosis(non-cholera) 1 2 Yersiniosis 1 1 Sexually Transmitted Diseases Chlamydia 46 112 Gonorrhea 9 22 Syphillis 0 0 Herpes 3 6 HIV 0 1 Totals 99 262 1 Housing Coordinated Entry- Households that experienced a Housing Crisis Total Households(HH) 423 Total Individuals 972 Total Children 43-3 Total Veterans 5o Male 43-3 Female 554 Other gender 5 Chronically Homeless HH 58 Literally Homeless HH 243 57% 243 households that contacted Coordinated Entry from 7/1/17 through 6/30/18 live in places not meant for human habitation: outdoors,abandoned building,vehicles or in structures without amenities Chronic Disabling Physical Developmental Health Mental Fleeing Reported Conditions Condition Disability Disability Condition Illness SUD DV Head of HH 305 3-33- 49 3-33- 3-92 1 53- 83 HH Partner/spouse 42 22 4 3-s 26 6 4 Children 3-02 3-5 64 8 43- 3- 4 Other relations living w/ HH 3-2 6 3 5 9 3- 1 4 HEAD OF HOUSHOLD Fleeing DV SUD Disabling Condition Mental Illness Physical Chronic Health Developmental Disability Condition Disability 2 Mental Health & Substance Use Prevention &Treatment(Treatment Sales Tax (TST) Funded) Contract year has ended, and reports are due from contractors by July 10,2018. New contracts began July 1, 2018. Mason County Opioid Response Plan Prescription Drug Overdose Program(PDO) Funded by Department of Health Grant through 08/30/19 PDO-Opioid Statistics May-June YTD Naloxone Kits Distributed 60 297 Resource Guides Distributed 400 1400 Opioid Overdoses 0 11 Opioid Overdose Fatalities 0 0 Non-Opioid Overdoses 2 12 Non-Opioid Fatalities 0 0 In June, Mason County Community Service's started a new partnership with Mason County Jail.This new project entails holding overdose prevention and response workshop with inmates currently incarcerated (41 inmates trained),a population historically vulnerable for fatal overdose.A study in Washington State found that between 1999-2003,the leading cause of death within the first two weeks of release was overdose.* In collaboration with the University of Washington's Drug and Alcohol Institute, we now have naloxone available upon request at the time of discharge in the jail.These workshops are also an opportunity to discuss the available resources with inmates who wish to seek substance abuse treatment and mental health treatment.In June we also trained all County Jail staff on recognizing and responding to overdose,where we discussed ways to reduce the possibility of overdose within the institution,as well as deputy safety surrounding Fentanyl exposure and needle stick injuries. We also had five public events within the community to discuss overdose with the public,as well as a workshop with the North Mason Timberland Library staff. *Release from Prison—A High Risk of Death for Former Inmates. 2007. Binswanger et al. New England Journal of Medicine 356(2): 157-165. Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Program (COAP) Funded by Bureau of Justice Assistance through (BJA) 10/30/20 Staff has been working diligently on engaging our community partners with the intention of receiving signed MOU's and Letters of support for a commitment to actively participate in the COAP project. The following is a list of the signatures we currently have on file. • Three letters of support-Shelton School district, Squaxin Island Tribe and TMBHO. • Five MOU's with treatment providers-Consejo, Peninsula Community Health Services, Northwest Resources II, Gethsemane Ministries and PATH/STR • Eight MOU's with community stakeholder's-Shelton Police Department, Mason County Sheriff's office, Mason County Jail, Mason General Hospital,Central Mason Fire&EMS, North Mason Regional Fire Authority, Mason County Fire District#4 and Mason County Fire District#6 We are still waiting on the response from four other treatment providers as well as several other community stakeholders. Substance Abuse Treatment and Prevention (Department of Behavioral Health Resources (DBHR) Funded) June 2018-Partnered with Skokomish Tribe Safe Streets Project,Shelton Timberland Library,and Dedrick Allen to Produce a safe syringe pick up video.The video will be on the Mason County, Library and Tribes web sites.This school year the Mason County Public Health,contracted with the Shelton High School SADD Club to provide media 3 Awareness education for Shelton school dist. 5th-12th grade students.They reached over 800 students between January-June 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pg5AprkO2nA We also partnered with Shelton Family Education Support Services (FESS)to provide Guiding Good Choices parenting program.The project reached 18 families and their children. We have also partnered with the CHOICE Health Regional Network to start a new North End Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition and Youth Prevention group.The Coalition meets the 3`d Wednesday of each month during the school year.The youth group organized its first event booth for the North Mason Safety Days Fair at Belfair and Sand Hill Elementary Schools.The youth educators covered topics such as telling an adult if they find a needle in the playground, items that are not safe to touch or play with around the house and proper tooth brushing. A letter was presented to the Board of Health and to the Mason County Commission form the Shelton Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition about the dangers of sniffing or huffing air duster. It was agreed that the letter will be distributed to all convince stores and large grocery stores asking that they securely store or lock up air duster products if possible.All stores have been notified as June 2018. New tobacco and vaping signs were offered to all stores. Tobacco/Vaping Regional Strategic Planning workgroup topics and goals include: Collaboration with chronic disease and other programs Strategic planning PSE focused activities trends in region-using the Health Youth Survey County challenges encountered and needed assistance from DOH Geographic/Racial Disparities What activities can we provide that fits within our communities Disparities and Data Marijuana Regional Strategic planning workgroup topics and goals include: The purpose of the Regional Strategic planning group is to prevent initiation and use of marijuana by youth ages 12-20 throughout Washington State.The Regional group will focus on the following: • Decrease percentage of 10th grade students(statewide)who have used marijuana on at least one day in the past 30 days. • Decrease percentage of 10th grade students who have used marijuana on at least one day in the past 30 days in African American,Latino/Hispanic,Asian/Pacific Islander,American Indian/Alaska Native,and LGBQT population. • Decrease the percentage of 10th grade students who first used marijuana before they were 14 years old. • Attended the CHOICE 3 day cultural diversity training in June 2018 Emergency Preparedness We completed our Public Health Emergency Preparedness grant work for our 2017-2018 contract on June 30, 2018. We finalized updates to our new Public Health Local Emergency Response Plan (176 pages)and it will be ready for review soon. Our Region 3 Health Care Coalition had its final meeting with the current board on June 8, 2018 and officially changed hands to the Northwest Healthcare Response Network(NWHRN)based in Tukwila. The plan is that our Region 3 coalition group will continue to meet under the new management of NWHRN, with the next meeting being in September. NWHRN will be meeting with healthcare,public health,emergency management and EMS partners in each county to work together to identify the best ways to provide support to our communities. 4 From the Director's Desk July 24, 2018 Summer is here! With summer comes the usual complaints of heat and humidity.This year we can add bats and rats to the complaint list.The current downtown construction has ejected rats from their normal nesting areas and I have had some reports of rats over the past several weeks. We've been working with the city to try to eliminate some trash and woody debris that would encourage them to make new homes in the downtown area.The heat has also driven down the insect population leading to a reduced food supply for bats.The number of bat/human contacts goes up when the bats have to work harder finding food. Some bats in eastern Washington have tested positive for rabies, a story that has been covered well in the media. Our website carries advice on what to do if a bat is encountered. It's hard to believe that we are heading into the preparation for the next legislative session.The Washington State Association of Counties has Foundational Public Health funding listed as one of their legislative priorities for the upcoming session, which bodes well for us to make some headway in the funding of public health.. Mason county received $42,000 this year for foundational public health work which we intend to apply to a new full time, temporary position in water quality. At this point, we have no major policy requests from the legislature beyond the Department of Health request to raise the tobacco legal age to 21 Revenue forecasts for the remainder of 2018 and into 2019 look stable.There is some grant money available to work on building a community health improvement forum.There are also grant dollars available from Cascade Pacific Action Alliance to address opioids, maternal child health, and funding community health workers. We are applying for both of these funding streams to build our opioid outreach in Mason County. Debbie Riley said goodbye at the end of June. We'll miss her great sense of humor and dedication to environmental health. I have appointed Alex Paysee as interim Environmental Health Manager pending the recruitment and hire of a permanent manager. At the June WSALPHO (Washington State Association of Local Public Health Officials) conference, I was installed as the President for the coming year. One of the major focus areas is maintaining adequate funding for small and rural public health jurisdictions. From Mason to Asotin, public health happens at the local level and we need to protect our small LHJ's. It's sure to be an exciting year as we head into a long legislative session. Our FTE's stand at 18.65, up one FTE from last report Dave Windom, MSHS From the Desk of the Environmental Health Manager (interim) June 2018 and July 2018 For Board of Health July 24th — by Alex Paysse As we said goodbye to our respected long time EH manager, Debbie Riley, we are wrapping up bi-annual reports and looking at the remainder of the years work. In June, Dave Windom asked me to step up to the interim manager position. If any of the board members have any questions, do not hesitate to call me. You can reach me at alexp(cD-co.mason.wa.us or 360-427- 9670, ext. 279. On June 1 st we hired two new employees, Jeff Wilmoth and Luke Cencula. Jeff comes from the east side of the state, working with Whitman Co. Public Health and will be joining the onsite and drinking water team. Luke is new to public health, but with his Hazwopper certification already he feels like a great fit with the solid waste program. Onsite Sewage: On June 6th and 7th Mason Co. hosted its second (and third) soils class for onsite septic professionals. This was the 2nd time we had DOH come to our county to teach and educate our staff and industry professionals. We had so many people interested we had to split the class into two days! Overall the class was a great success, with county staff and onsite professionals diving deep into exploration of soils from the onsite septic aspect. DOH offers these classes throughout the year in various counties, but Mason Co. has their own unique soils here, so its nice to have professional opinions on our local dirt. As of June 30th, we have received 249 onsite sewage permits, which is an increase of 28% from last year. Onsite sewage staff have been very busy, however the addition of Jeff W. has helped with the additional work load. Drinking Water: We were working on possible funding from DOH for drafting/updating a Group B water system program. Towards end of June we were notified there was no further funding for this year and we would have to wait till next year. We hope to make application for these funds and work on our Group B water system program next year. As of June 301h, we have received 86 well construction applications, which is an increase of 48% from last year. 48 well constructions (23 with driller) and 1 well decommission have been inspected by staff. Water Quality: On June 20th, DOH reclassified 350 aces of Oakland Bay commercial shellfish growing area from "Conditionally approved" to "approved" and 19 acres from conditionally approved to "unclassified". The attached before and after maps from the DOH report shows the amount of work from Mason County staff, DOH, Other water quality affiliates, and the residents for the Chapman Cove area. Congrats to all involved! With Staci Mcdowell leaving us in May, Sean M. has stepped into the work on Hammersly inlet with our SSI Grant. Katie O. continues her work on the Hood Canal following up on hotspots and performing sanitary surveys. She has found 2 failures through dye tests in 2018. Onsite staff are working with the owners on repair permits. Additional funding has been granted to Mason County for an additional .5 FTE to work on prevention with communicable disease through water quality work. With additional work available in the other ongoing water quality grants, we will be hiring an additional full time temporary employee. Food Safety: Cody has been very busy inspecting temp events around the county. Working odd hours and weekends to catch as many events as he can, we appreciate the hard work he puts forward every year in this busy season. Solid Waste: Luke C. is picking up where Maria Machado left off with our solid waste program and complaints. He is working on getting us caught back up, so we can respond more promptly to related public health concerns. We have received 130 Environmental Health complaints as of June 30th Vector: Staff responded to 2 animal bites (1 cat, 1 dog) and several bat inquiries in June. All submitted specimens were found negative for rabies. Shellfish: Sean M. continues collecting Mussels from Jerrell's Cove for Biotoxin testing. Water Recreation: In July Cody L. will inspect our 12 water recreation permits for public pools and spas within the county.