HomeMy WebLinkAboutM021518 BOHJEFFERSON COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH
MINUTES
Thursday, February 15, 2018
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 Kler, County Commissioner, District #3
Ariel Speser, Vice -Chair, Port Townsend City Council
Sheila Westerman, Citizen at large
Jill Buhler, Hospital Commissioner, District #2
John Austin, 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 John Austin called the February 15, 2018 meeting of the Jefferson County Board of Health
to order at 2:30 p.m. A quorum was present.
Members Present: David Sullivan, Jill Buhler, Kathleen Kler, John Austin, Ariel Speser
Members Excused: Sheila Westerman, Kate Dean
Staff Present: Vicki Kirkpatrick, Veronica Shaw, Thomas Locke, Stuart Whitford, Michael
Dawson, Jenny Matter
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Chair Austin asked for approval of the Agenda of the February 15, 2018.
Member Jill Buhler motioned to approve the agenda. The motion was seconded by
Member David Sullivan. No further discussion. The motion passed unanimously.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Chair Austin asked for approval of the minutes of the January 18, 2018 meeting of the Jefferson
County Board of Health.
Member David Sullivan motioned to approve the minutes. The motion was seconded by
Vice -Chair Ariel Speser. No further discussion. The motion passed unanimously.
PUBLIC COMMENTS
Kees Kolff, President of the Community Arts and Recreational Alliance, stated that the Port
Townsend Cycle School will be established at Fort Worden and gave information about the
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school. He invited the Board to the kickoff meeting on Thursday, February 22, 2018 at 4:30pm
at the Rosewind Common House.
Paul Ruben stated that he compiled some research on the legality of composting bio -solids and
reviewed WAC 173-308-270 - Septage applied to the land.
Chuck Gibilisco summarized the content of some of the websites he previously sent to the BOH
in an email. He said he hoped the Board would contact their counter parts in jurisdictions where
greywater and composting systems have been permitted in order to explore opportunities for use
in Jefferson County.
OLD BUSINESS AND INFORMATIONAL ITEMS
1. Jefferson Healthcare (JHC) Update
Jill Buhler reported that JHC has hired an additional seven providers and will be hiring a
dedicated dentist and dental hygienists for the dental clinic. She provided information on the
status of the Dental Clinic, the Express Care Clinic, and affiliation with Discovery Behavioral
Healthcare (DBH). An integrative shared leadership model between DBH and JHC is in the
process of being established. Ms. Buhler also said JHC is subsidizing transitional housing for
high need patients through OlyCAP and partnering with a physician who is providing
Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT).
2. Water Conserving On -Site Wastewater Treatment Systems — update
Stuart Whitford, Environmental Health (EH) Director, said the State's greywater rule and water
conserving on-site sewage system guidance document have been posted on Jefferson County
Public Health's (JCPH) website. Mr. Whitford suggested EH staff further research the
regulations and science of water conserving on-site wastewater treatment systems and present a
position paper at the next Board meeting. He also suggested holding a public workshop to
review the information and engage the public.
Mr. Whitford reviewed the status of the State review of the on-site sewage rule that happens
approximately every five years. The Board had questions and comments about the committee
that will review the rule, the status of the proposal submitted by the Conservation District,
logistics of the public workshop, and including disease prevention in the position paper.
3. HB 1047 — The Secure Drug Take -Back Act
Chair Austin shared his experience of bringing pharmaceuticals to the Sheriff's office for
disposal. Dr. Tom Locke, Health Officer, reported on the status of House Bill 1047 and drug
take -back programs in Kitsap and Clallam counties. If HB 1047 passes, it will be a state
mandate to create safe and secure methods to collect and dispose of unwanted medications,
therefore making a county mandate unnecessary.
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4. 2017-2018 Influenza Season
Dr. Locke reviewed the mortality and hospitalization rates due to influenza and the vaccine
efficacy rates for the different strains (i.e., H3N2, H1N1, influenza B, etc.). He also compared
the vaccine efficacy rates between the United States, Australia and Canada. Dr. Locke explained
how the vaccine for H3N2 is produced and why it is not as effective as others. He also explained
the multiple occurrences of the flu due to various strains, the need for a more effective flu
vaccine and how a universal flu vaccine would be produced and administered.
NEW BUSINESS
1. Olympic Community of Health (OCH) Update — Natural Communities of Care Convening
Dr. Locke said the OCH has facilitated regional meetings for groups of providers and partners
that serve the same Medicaid population, titled Natural Communities of Care (NCC). Each NCC
is in the process of developing a plan to make health care more affordable or accessible under the
Medicaid Transformation Project. Dr. Locke reviewed the project criteria, estimated available
funding, and reporting process. He emphasized collecting and analyzing data to identify what
does and doesn't work.
Dr. Locke informed the Board about the oral health component of the transformation grant,
future outlook for dental services as medical and dental are integrated, and economics of dental
vans and not-for-profit clinics.
Members of the Board and Staff discussed the need for jail re-entry support, limited access to
mental health and substance abuse treatment, need for regional inpatient resources, using
paramedical support teams and triage centers to respond to behavioral health incidents,
disseminating information to the public, and multidisciplinary case management.
2. 2018 Legislative Session
Dr. Locke reported that most of the opioid related legislation has been acted on favorably and
there seems to be federal and state funding for opioid treatment and aftercare. In addition, the
bill to raise the legal age to buy tobacco products to 21 is still alive and there is an effort to
restrict where vaporized tobacco products can be used and how they are taxed.
Stuart Whitford said he reviewed the legislative response to the Hirst decision with the
Department of Community Development (DCD) and they didn't see any impact to Jefferson
County at this point. However, they will need to address the reserve requirement as sub -basins
become depleted. Mr. Whitford also reported that local solid waste funding was restored and
provided details about House Bill 1476, an unfunded mandate to increase requirements for local
management plans of septic systems.
3. Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) Update
Dr. Locke told the Board that the CHIP sub -committees will start meeting again as a part of the
implementation process. Both the Board of Health and Board of Hospital Commissioners will
govern the implementation of the CHIP. They are scheduled to meet March 20th at 3pm.
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Vicki Kirkpatrick, Public Health Director, said Senovia is reviewing the strategies and metrics of
the CHIP and getting co-chairs from various community sectors to represent the CHIP priorities.
Chair Austin said the next meeting for the sub -committee on immunizations will be May 17th at
9am.
Veronica Shaw noted that the CHIP document is located under "About Us' on the home page for
Jefferson County Public Health (http://www.jeffersoncountypublichealth.org/378/Community
Health -Improvement -Project -CHI).
ACTIVITY UPDATE
Vicki Kirkpatrick told the Board that Karen Obermeyer, Health Educator, recently held a pop-up
WIC clinic at the bouncy castle at the Dept. of Parks and Recreation that was very well received
and she is excited about the potential of having more of these around the community.
Stuart Whitford reported to the Board that EH and DCD will have a recommendation for the new
building permit data base and cost estimate at the next BOH meeting.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Dan Cooper asked about the Olympic Community of Health meeting on February 23, 2018. The
Board provided information on the logistics and focus of the meeting.
Kees Kolff, said that the CHIP can be found "About Us' on the home page for Jefferson County
Public Health. He also said that Senovia will be looking for participation from the community to
implement the CHIP. She will make a presentation at the noon rotary to outline the CHIP on
March 6th or March 13th
Paul Ruben read partial excerpts from 40 CFR Part 503 and RCW 70.95J.005 regarding bio -
solids and explained how he thought bio -solids could be composted if they were properly
managed.
AGENDA PLANNING CALENDAR
There were no agenda planning updates.
NEXT SCHEDULED MEETING
The next Board of Health meeting will be held on Thursday, March 15, 2018 from 2:30 —
4:30p.m. at Jefferson County Public Health, 615 Sheridan Street, Port Townsend, WA.
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ADJOURNMENT
Chair Austin adjourned the February 15, 2018 Jefferson County Board of Health meeting
at 4:22 p.m.
JEFFERSON COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH
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Jo ustin, Chair
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Kathleen Kler, Member
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Sheila Westerman, Member
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Ariel Speser, Vice -Chair
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Respectfully submitted
J. Matter
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