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HomeMy WebLinkAboutM062013JEFFERSON COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH MINUTES Thursday, June 20 2013 Jefferson County Public Health, 615 Sheridan Street, Port Townsend, WA 98368 Board Members Phil Johnson, County Commissioner District #1 David Sullivan, Vice Chair, County Commissioner, District #2 John Austin, County Commissioner, District #3 Roberta Frissell, citizen at large (County) Catharine Robinson, Port Townsend City Council Sheila Westerman, Citizen at large (City) Jill Buhler, Chair, Hospital Commissioner, District #2 Staff Members Thomas Locke, MD, MPH Health Officer Jean Baldwin, Public Health Services Dir Julia Danskin, Nursing Services Director Jared Keefer, Env. Health Services Dir Veronica Shaw, Deputy Director Chair Buhler called the meeting of the Jefferson County Board of Health to order at 2:35 PM. A quorum was present. Members Present: Jill Buhler, Sheila Westerman, Roberta Frissell, Catharine Robinson, David Sullivan, Phil Johnson Staff Present: Dr. Thomas Locke, Jean Baldwin, Jared Keefer Members Excused: John Austin APPROVAL OF AGENDA Chair Buhler called to move the Food Safety Awards Presentation to the top of the agenda, to accommodate business attendees. Member Robinson moved to approve the agenda as amended; the motion was seconded by Member Westerman. No discussion. The motion passed unanimously. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Member Robinson moved to approve the minutes of the May 16, 2013 meeting with amendments: on page 2, Anne Dean's name spelling needs to be corrected, and at the bottom of page 4, change to "provider per population". The motion was seconded by member Westerman. No further discussion. The motion passed unanimously. OLD BUSINESS AND INFORMATION (AGENDA REVISION) Food Safety Award Presentation Jared reviewed the 18 entities which were awarded 2012 Outstanding Achievement Awards for food safety reviews. Awards were presented in person to Discovery View Retirement, The Food Coop and the Plaid Pepper. BOH Minutes — June 20, 2013 PUBLIC COMMENT Chair Buhler called for public comment. Erica Delma, Program Executive Director of Jefferson YMCA made an announcement of approval for summer meal site programs in Quilcene, Port Townsend and Chimacum. Erica reported that the YMCA program is an open meal program for children aged 1-18. Chimacum site combines a grant funded reading enrichment program. Quilcene program begins in July in concert with programs with the book mobile on Tuesdays. Ms. Delma also presented a save -the - date for a September fundraiser for "Exercise and Thrive." Ms. Delma handed out program fliers and save the date cards. OLD BUSINESS and INFORMATIONAL ITEMS Washington Healthplanfinder Lead Organizations Chosen Jean Baldwin, Director, Jefferson County Public Health, reported that the state is developing a network of "in person assisters," to help people enroll in Affordable Care Act sponsored health insurance plans. The State is divided by regions, and the regions have sought bids for in person assisters and training. CHOICE Regional Health Network was chosen from the bid process for our region. CHOICE will contract with JCPH and other area agencies to train people to assist community members enrolling in Medicaid and subsidized insurance plans. JCPH will consider being a drop-in healthcare registration site. Growth Management Hearing Board Rules Against Homeowner Septic System Inspection Dr. Locke discussed The Growth Management Hearing Board decision which voided the homeowner inspection system in Whatcom County. The homeowner inspection program has strong support in this county, and is being used around the state. Mr. Keefer indicated that the ruling may be more of an indication of the coordination regarding growth management practices in Whatcom County, than an indictment of the homeowner inspection system. Dr. Locke clarified that the regulation of on-site sewage system is a public health issue, not a growth management or land use issue. He wondered whether the authority of Growth Management Hearing Board extended to public health issue. Heroin Use Trends Across Washington State Dr. Locke reviewed a recently published University of Washington report regarding heroin use, which indicates that heroin use is increasing across the state. The report looks specifically at heroin, but follows on the heels of a similar problem on the Olympic Peninsula having to do with high use of and mortality from prescription opiates. As efforts to reduce inappropriate prescription of opiates have progressed, there has been an upswing in heroin use and overdose. Member Robinson asks for clarification of the graph included in the packet. Dr. Locke indicates that the graph includes representations of the confidence intervals for data from each county. Breastfeeding Coalition of Washington 2 BOH Minutes — June 20, 2013 Kathy Anderson, JCPH Nutritionist, reported a WIC client's account of being told that she couldn't breastfeed in public, despite a 2009 law that specifically protects that right. The client wanted to do the best for her child, and was confronted multiple times in public, and as a result decided to just breastfeed at night. Kathy hopes that awareness and involvement can be raised, and that this type of discouragement will end. JCPH hosts the breastfeeding tea, coordinated by Kathy Luch, who will be trained for breastfeeding support certification. The breastfeeding tea has been going for more than 15 years. JCPH has implemented an internal breastfeeding support policy. Chairman Buhler suggests increasing publicity for the new law, and recommended workplace policies. NEW BUSINESS Public Hearing — Environmental Health Fee Schedule Revisions Proposed revisions to the Environmental Health Fee Schedule were reviewed and discussed at the May 16, 2013 BOH meeting. Chairman Buhler opened the public hearing for the revisions at 3:25 and called for public comments. Member Westerman asked for clarification about whether the pools and spas on the schedule refer to public or private pools and spas. Mr. Keefer confirmed that these are public, and the category includes waterslides, etc. Mr. Keefer will research alternate language, and the state and federal laws and address the clarification during the omnibus changes to the fee schedule in the fall. No further comment, Chairman Buhler closed the public hearing. Member Westerman moved to approve the proposed ordinance amending the Jefferson County Public Health Fee Schedule. The motion was seconded by Member Sullivan. No further discussion. The motion passed unanimously. Multi -state Outbreak of Hepatitis A Dr. Locke reviewed information regarding the recall of a popular frozen fruit blend sold through Costco, which is sourced from all over the world, and linked to a multi -state Hepatitis A outbreak. This particular strain of Hep A hasn't been seen in the US in a long time, linking it to Turkish fruit imported for the blend. Costco has made an effort to notify the public through outreach and individual notification to purchasers. Vaccinations have been given, paid for by Costco. The last exposures were over 2 weeks, and the window for vaccination is closing, but the maximum incubation period is ending in two weeks. The number of reported illness is at 118 nationwide. The issue also includes a Federal investigation regarding the organic certification process. Agenda for Change: Foundational Public Health Services Dr. Locke referred to an earlier 2010 version of Agenda for Change policy paper. At that time, there was a limited scope to the agenda, and the current revision expands the scope of the BOH Minutes — June 20, 2013 agenda, which now focuses on foundational public health services and core competencies and is somewhat broader than the categories of the past. The funding for public health services, being advocated for at legislature, is now being linked to this concept of foundational health services. Although there isn't yet an agreement on the budget, the local public health component has been included in both House and Senate versions. Member Westerman questioned whether the change in the funding will affect JCPH. Ms. Baldwin reports that the impact may not be on the local level, but it will have implications for the State Department of Health which is losing funding to manage support programs for local health jurisdictions. Small Business Assistance for Hazardous Waste Control Pinky Feria -Mingo updated the Board regarding the Local Source Control Program contract. The name of the program has been changed to Business Pollution Prevention. JCPH provides education and outreach to businesses regarding stormwater management involving hazardous waste. Most of the changes occurring in the last 3 months are internal — data collection and data entry, building the Tidemark database to measure progress over time, the development of checklists to ensure longevity and crossover when staffing turns over, and development of resources for businesses for disposal of hazardous waste. The next step in the program will be to do follow up with businesses to measure progress. JCPH has 55 spill kits to offer to businesses to encourage spill containment, etc. Member Johnson wondered about the process for bilge water. Ms. Feria -Mingo indicated that owners are encouraged to containerize bilge water and take it to an appropriate treatment facility. The next step, with funding, will be to offer two workshops for artists. Chairman Frissell questioned why the Pollution Control Hearings Board is pushing the PTPC hearing forward to December. Ms. Feria -Mingo clarified that the Shorelines Hearing Board cases have primacy, and those hearings have to be heard within 180 days, which bumped the PTPC hearing forward. Environmental education in the schools: Ms. Feria -Mingo reported that Jen Kingfisher has made approximately 32 presentations, reaching about 500 students so far, and the feedback has been tremendous. Member Westerman asked for clarification regarding recycling of fluorescent bulbs. Ms. Feria - Mingo said that these are no longer collected at the hazardous waste facility in the Port, they can be taken to the Jefferson County transfer station, or there is a collection site at JCPH for compact fluorescent bulbs and batteries. Mr. Keefer noted a current King County proposal to initiate a unique and extensive drug -take - back program. In Jefferson County, prescription drugs can be taken to the Port Townsend Police Department and the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office. Member Robinson asked staff for further information about the logistics for the King County's program — specifically, the expanded public drop -box locations. BOH Minutes — June 20, 2013 Ms. Baldwin reported that DOE set up a call number for the community to call regarding the Port Townsend Paper Corp: Angela Fritz, 360-407-7393 or angelafritz@ecy.gov Legislative Update Dr. Locke reports that in addition to defining foundational public health services, a statewide cost model for funding needed to meet these goals is due out next month, and will be the basis of the ongoing legislative priority for a stable, long term dedicated fund for public health. Lacking a final budget, state government is preparing for a shutdown. The Governor and the Office of Financial Management has released a contingency plan, and there's hope that the severity of the impacts of a closure will be enough to move the operating budget forward before the current budget expires at the end of the month. As of the end of last week, the budgets had a 300 million disparity between the House and Senate budgets. A large amount of the gap has been closed by an increased state revenue projection of $230,000. Ms. Baldwin said that there isn't an indication yet about what this means for JCPH for State funded programs. 800 people in Jefferson County rely on WIC food funding in Jefferson County. It will be a struggle to turn around contract amendments through the BOCC in the 6 days required by the State. Further, Mr. Keefer reports that if there's a shutdown, shellfish testing will end, and commercial shellfish harvesting will be stopped. Dr. Locke expressed his concern about a statement by the Department of Health that all healthcare licenses, in 84 different categories, would be null and void after a 30 day extension. Member Sullivan suggests that on July 1 st, should the State closure come to pass, Director Baldwin should be prepared to address concerns and possible solutions with the Board of County Commissioners and the County Administrator. ACTIVITY UPDATE Dr. John Wiesman, Washington State Secretary of Health, is scheduled to visit Jefferson Healthcare on July 15th to present the hospital with an award for healthy babies. Jefferson Healthcare is one of five hospitals in the state being awarded. Dr. Wiesman will then be attending the Clallam and Kitsap Board of Health meetings, and will be returning for the Jefferson County Board of Health meeting on July 18th. Dr. Locke indicated that the theme, as Dr. Wiesman enters office, is "press the reset button" and this is an opportunity to take a fresh look at everything DOH does. PUBLIC COMMENT No additional public comment. BOH Minutes — June 20, 2013 AGENDA PLANNING CALENDAR No additions at this time. Ms. Baldwin suggested adding material which could be presented and reviewed with Dr. Wiesman in conjunction with the "press the reset button" theme. NEXT SCHEDULED MEETING Next Board of Health meeting will be held on July 18, 2013 from 2:30 — 4:30 p.m. at Jefferson County Public Health, 615 Sheridan St., Port Townsend, WA 98368 VV)X1 ._L U 1► 1 Chair Buhler adjourned the BOH meeting at 4:25 PM. JEFF SO COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH Phil Johns , Member Roberta Frissell, Member Catharine Robinson, Member � U� u6, W tt) �V* VV41 Sheila Westerman, Member Respectfully Submitted: Cara Leckenby 4Je---4� ill Buhler, Chair David Sullivan, Vice Chair Excused John Austin, Member 6 BOH Minutes — June 20, 2013