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HomeMy WebLinkAboutM092117JEFFERSON COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH MINUTES Thursday, September 21, 2017 Jefferson County Public Health, 615 Sheridan Street, Port Townsend WA 98368 Board Members Kate Dean, County Commissioner District #1 David Sullivan, County Commissioner, District #2 Kathleen Kier, County Commissioner, District #3 Catharine Robinson, Chair, Port Townsend City Council Sheila Westerman, Citizen at large Jill Buhler, Hospital Commissioner, District #2 John Austin, Vice -Chair, Citizen at large Staff Members Thomas Locke, Health Officer Vicki Kirkpatrick, Public Health Dir Stuart Whitford, Env. Health Dir Veronica Shaw, Public Health Deputy Dir Michael Dawson, WQ Manager Jenny Matter, Clerk of the Board Chair Catharine Robinson called the September 21, 2017 meeting of the Jefferson County Board of Health to order at 2:31 p.m. A quorum was present. Members Present: John Austin, David Sullivan, Jill Buhler, Kathleen Kler, Catharine Robinson, Kate Dean, Sheila Westerman Staff Present: Vicki Kirkpatrick, Stuart Whitford, Michael Dawson, Thomas Locke, Jenny Matter APPROVAL OF AGENDA Chair Robinson asked for approval of the Agenda of the September 21, 2017. Member Kathleen Kier motioned to approve the agenda. The motion was seconded by Member John Austin. No further discussion. The motion passed unanimously. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Chair Robinson noted a typo in the minutes and asked that it be corrected. The word "verses" was corrected to "versus" under New Business, Item 2, 3`d paragraph. Chair Robinson asked for approval of the minutes as amended of the August 17, 2017 meeting of the Jefferson County Board of Health. Member Jill Buhler motioned to approve the minutes as amended. The motion was seconded by Member John Austin. No further discussion. The motion passed unanimously. Page 1 of 5 PUBLIC COMMENTS There was no public comment. OLD BUSINESS AND INFORMATIONAL ITEMS 1. Jefferson Healthcare Update Jill Buhler reported that Jefferson County Public Hospital District No.2 Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to hire a shared executive director for Discovery Behavioral Health (DBH) and Jefferson Healthcare (JHC) behavior health service line, which will target patients in the moderate to intense range on the behavioral health status spectrum. A shared clinical integration committee and operations committee will also be established. JHC will introduce chemical dependency services starting with a medication assisted program in 2018 and add additional behavioral health services and providers to coordinate care between the two entities for patients. Ms. Buhler also reported that JHC's Patient Financial Taskforce made a series of recommendations to improve patients' financial experience. Updating the sliding fee scale, conducting outreach activities to inform the public about financial assistance opportunities and providing automated services to reduce the barrier for patients to connect with the financial assistance program were included in the recommendations. 2. Wildfires and Air Quality Fact Sheet Dr. Tom Locke, Health Officer, reported on the status of wildfires in Washington State and air quality. Michael Dawson, Water Quality Director, said one of the Department of Ecology's websites went down due to increased web traffic during the peak of poor air quality in the region. Kate Dean stated that Port Townsend was considered to be in the red zone (unhealthy for all) for 1 day and in the orange zone (unhealthy for sensitive groups) for 7 or 8 days. 3. Lethal Levels of Shellfish Biotoxin Found at Fort Flagler; Port Townsend Bay Closes Michael Dawson reported on the high levels of shellfish biotoxin and related beach closures. Dr. Locke explained the effects of poisoning. The Board had questions about how incidents of exposure were recorded, the continual upward trend of harmful algae blooms, adequate testing frequency, and program funding. Mr. Dawson and Stuart Whitford, Environmental Health director, explained how funding was allocated from the State and noted the inadequacy of funding to continue testing. John Austin recommended the Board write a letter in support of sufficient future funding to the legislature and copy John Weisman, DOH Secretary of Health. Algae blooms are projected to continue into the autumn due to continued warm weather. NEW BUSINESS 1. Immunization Access and Rates in Jefferson County Lisa McKenzie, Public Health Nurse at Jefferson County Public Health (JCPH), and Dr. Molly Parker, Medical Director for Population Health at Jefferson Healthcare (JHC), presented information on immunization rates and accessibility in Jefferson County. Lisa McKenzie Page 2 of 5 reviewed immunization rates for children and adults given at JCPH in comparison to JHC. She also reviewed the demographics of those immunized at JCPH and the types of immunizations available. Ms. McKenzie reviewed the Community Health Implementation Plan (CHIP) immunization framework and current school vaccination compliance rates. She noted that compliance rates for childhood immunizations improved when there was support by the superintendent and principal to delay registration until vaccine documentation or an exemption form was filed. Dr. Molly Parker presented information on the five clinics where JHC offers immunizations. She described some of the issues that impede raising immunization rates, including the inability to transport vaccines to rural clinics and insurance coverage restrictions (e.g., Medicare requirements for tetanus or shingles). Dr. Parker explained how JHC is working to meet the objectives of the CHIP by expanding resources to staff, communicating with other agencies, conducting pre -visit preparations to anticipate due vaccines, creating standard orders so nurses can give vaccines without a provider signature, providing after visit summaries, and conducting community and social media outreach. The Board had questions about immunization compliance rates, availability of vaccines to rural health centers, sharing information between agencies, and demographics or geography of populations with low immunization rates. There was a brief conversation on mandatory immunization compliance in California and the possibility of a similar mandate in Washington. It was noted that Jefferson County has one of the highest exemption rates in the State. 2. Health Technology Fee to Support the Replacement of Tidemark Database — Call for Public Hearing for October 19, 2017 Board of Health Meeting Stuart Whitford updated the Board on the current status of replacing the Tidemark database, as it has been discontinued from the company that developed it. He reviewed how the database is used by Environmental Health, Community Development and the public. Mr. Whitford proposed a percentage charge increase as one way to fund the new data base, since the cost of operating and maintaining it will exceed the current technology fee. He also sought the Board's recommendation for other funding possibilities. The Board had questions about current fees and shared costs. Mr. Whitford requested to clarify and finalize the draft document and present it at the next Board meeting, when they are closer to selecting a vendor. 3. Community Assessment of Neighborhood Stores Denise Banker, Community Health Educator for JCPH, informed the Board about an activity conducted by the Chimacum High School Prevention Club that assessed where alcohol and tobacco, including advertisements and warnings, were placed in local stores. After a site visit to five stores in the Chimacum and Port Hadlock area, they wrote an assessment and sent a letter of their findings to the manager of each store. Ms. Banker showed a short video describing their experience. She also noted that development within a short distance of the Chimacum Elementary, Middle and High school, is primarily alcohol or marijuana based. Page 3 of 5 4. Olympic Community of Health (OCH) Update Dr. Locke reported that the OCH recently received the next round of funding and final project proposals are due November 61h ACTIVITY UPDATE Kate Dean announced that representatives from the EPA, DSHS, HUD, City of Port Townsend, JHC, Jefferson County, YMCA, Port Townsend School District, NAMI, EPA, and others will be here on September 281h and 291h. On the evening of September 281h there will be a public meeting to seek input from the community on developing a community wellness and resiliency center at the Mountain View Campus. The center is also proposed to serve as a recovery center in case of a disaster. Ms. Dean invited JCPH to participate. PUBLIC COMMENT Linda Davis, Food Policy Council representative representing farmers, said that they recently issued a position paper on the Growth Management Act. She commented on benefits of composting toilets and composting human waste as a farming practice and way to address affordable housing. She recommended that the Board read The Humanure Handbook. Brian Vervynck, a member of the JHC Patient Financial Experience Taskforce, stated that JHC elected to provide a discount to those who make up to 400% of the federal poverty guidelines, although they were only required to provide discounts for those who make up to 200%. He said he had a very positive experience working with JHC. AGENDA PLANNING CALENDAR Member Sheila Westerman motioned to cancel the November BOH meeting. The motion was seconded by Member John Austin. No further discussion. The motion passed unanimously. NEXT SCHEDULED MEETING The next Board of Health meeting will be held on Thursday, October 19, 2017 from 2:30 — 4:30 p.m. at Jefferson County Public Health, 615 Sheridan Street, Port Townsend, WA. ADJOURNMENT Chair Catharine Robinson adjourned the September 213', 2017 Jefferson County Board of Health meeting at 4:31 p.m. Page 4 of 5 JEFFERSON COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH piillarllr - Catharine Rob' on, Chair John ustin, Vice -Chair i. Cll�Auhler, Mempber Sheila Westerman, Member 4Cat�-Ef <zA-/ Kathleen Kler, Member Respectfully submitted J. Matter Page 5 of 5