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HomeMy WebLinkAboutM101818 BOHJEFFERSON COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH MINUTES Thursday, October 18, 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, Chair, Port Townsend City Council Sheila Westerman, Citizen at large Kees Kolff, Hospital Commissioner, District #2 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 Pinky Mingo, EH Manager Jenny Matter, Clerk of the Board Chair Ariel Speser called the October 18, 2018 meeting of the Jefferson County Board of Health to order at 2:30 p.m. A quorum was present. Members Present: David Sullivan, Kathleen Kler, Ariel Speser, Sheila Westerman, Kate Dean, Kees Kolff Staff Present: Thomas Locke, Vicki Kirkpatrick, Stuart Whitford, Jenny Matter APPROVAL OF AGENDA Chair Speser asked for approval of the agenda of the October 18, 2018. Dr. Tom Locke, Health Officer, requested to add a short explanation of Acute Flaccid Myelitis and Member Kathleen Kler asked to add Board Membership. Chair Speser asked for a vote for the new agenda. All voted in favor of the new agenda. No further discussion. The motion passed unanimously. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Chair Speser asked for approval of the minutes of the September 20, 2018 meeting of the Jefferson County Board of Health. Member David Sullivan requested for "county land" to be changed to "county right-of-way" on page 2, last paragraph, first sentence. Member Kate Dean noted a typo on page 1, first sentence. Page 1 of 5 Member Kate Dean motioned to approve the minutes as amended. The motion was seconded by Member David Sullivan. No further discussion. The motion passed unanimously. PUBLIC COMMENTS Chair Speser opened the public comment period. John Austin, of Port Townsend, thanked the Board for allowing him to participate as a Board member for the past eleven years. He said he had faith in the competence and compassion of the Board to do a good job and he would not be re -applying since his term had expired. Mr. Austin commented on the environmental health policy regarding enforcement of basic sanitation regulations in non -permitted living conditions. He said he would like clarification about the restrictions for trailers at county, state and federal campgrounds. Chair Speser closed the public comment period. OLD BUSINESS AND INFORMATIONAL ITEMS 1. Jefferson Healthcare (JHC) Update Kees Kolff reported that: 1) Mike Glenn received the Joe Hopkins Memorial Award, 2) Hilary Whittington has been recognized by the Puget Sound Business Journal as a"40 Under 40" award winner, 3) JHC is seeking partners to establish a SANE (sexual assault nurse examiner) program and a final recommendation will be presented to JHC on October 24"', 4) the dental clinic open house was well attended, and 5) three of the hospital commissioners were in Washington. DC to advocate for the 340B pricing program and other programs important to the survival of rural hospital districts. NEW BUSINESS 1. Environmental Health Policy Regarding Enforcement of Basic Sanitation Regulations in Non -Permitted Living Conditions - Possible Adoption Stuart Whitford, Environmental Public Health Director, reviewed the changes made based on the feedback from the Board at the last BOH meeting. In his review, he included the intent of the policy, conditions where grandfathered -in pit privies would be allowed, limitations of outdoor plumbing fixtures (i.e., hose bibbs, fish / shellfish wash sinks, raw vegetable wash sinks), permanence of outdoor plumbing modifications, and options to consider for non-compliance. Mr. Whitford clarified the policy as applying only to county assessed property and informed the Board of the support for the policy by the Department of Community Development. Page 2 of 5 The Board had questions and comments about determining waste water consumption, listing acronyms, and sections of the Jefferson County code referenced in the policy. Member Kees Kolff motioned to approve the policy as amended. The motion was seconded by Member Sheila Westerman. No further discussion. The motion passed unanimously. 2. Amended Jefferson County Board of Health Bylaws — Possible Adoption Dr. Locke presented the updated bylaws. One typo was noted. The Board thanked Dr. Locke for his work on updating the bylaws. Member Kathleen Kler motioned to approve the bylaws as amended. The motion was seconded by Member Kees Kolff. No further discussion. The motion passed unanimously. 3. 2017 Communicable Disease Program Report Lisa McKenzie, Public Health Nurse, provided an overview of the 2017 Communicable Disease Program report. She discussed rates of pertussis, sexually transmitted infections and immunizations. Ms. McKenzie also reviewed demographics, compared local, state and national rates, and gave possible explanations for variations in data over the past 5 years. Dr. Locke explained expedited partner therapy, in which antibiotics are prescribed for the sexual partners of for those who are diagnosed with chlamydia infection. Ms. McKenzie said she and Dr. Locke attended the quarterly school superintendents meeting in Brinnon and presented data on rates of children who are out -of -compliance with immunization requirements, along with their goal of each school using a standardized approach to achieving compliance. The Board had questions about the demographics of those with chlamydia, the most common vaccines keeping children in the 19-35 month range from being considered 100% complete of immunizations, the statistical significance of data variations, when data for the previous year is prepared, and possible change in public opinion regarding severity of measles. 4. Olympic Community of Health (OCH) Opiate Summit Report Member Kathleen Kler provided a brief overview of how the opioid summit was originally established and said it was very well attended this year. Dr. Locke said noteworthy progress has been made toward opioid prevention, treatment and harm reduction. They are hoping to see significant federal funding in the next year that will primarily be used to expand treatment capacity and access to Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT). Although they are working in the context of transforming the healthcare system, connecting substance abuse providers, behavioral health specialists, and physicians to provide wrap around services is still a challenge. Dr. Locke gave information on the rates of opioid prescriptions locally and nationally, along with rates of recovery from opioid addiction. He said physicians are starting to dispense shorter courses of opioids when they are required for acute pain management. Page 3 of 5 Member Kathleen Kler said she was encouraged by seeing a variety of service providers and tribal partners at the meeting who are working in a more coordinated way throughout the peninsula. The Board had comments and questions about using Ibuprofen and Tylenol for acute pain management, rates of opioid prescriptions, access to opioids through veterinary clinics and dental providers, sources of fentanyl, the lawsuit against pharmaceutical companies, and bipartisan support for addressing the opioid crisis. 5. Acute Flaccid Myelitis (AFM) Member Kees Kolff said there is no known cause of AFM and it is rarely fatal. Dr. Locke informed the Board that several national clusters of AFM have been reported since 2014. There have been six cases in Washington State since August 2018 and has characteristics suggesting it is triggered by an infectious disease. Many experts suspect it is an enterovirus similar to polio. 6. Board of Health Composition Member David Sullivan said there are two applicants to fill John Austin's position as a member at large. Dr. Locke and Kathleen Kler will conduct the interviews. Member Sheila Westerman motioned to nominate Ariel Speser as Chair. The motion was seconded by Member Kees Kolff. No further discussion. The motion passed unanimously. Member Sheila Westerman motioned to nominate Kate Dean as Vice -chair. The motion was seconded by Member Kees Kolff. No further discussion. The motion passed unanimously. ACTIVITY UPDATE Vicki Kirkpatrick said they will be conducting interviews this week for the Community Health Director. Stuart Whitford said the name Environmental Health has been changed to Environmental Public Health and they will have new signs. They have also hired a registered sanitarian for the solid waste enforcement position. PUBLIC COMMENT There was no public comment. Page 4 of 5 AGENDA PLANNING CALENDAR Dr. Locke said the next scheduled meeting conflicts with the time of the Washington State Association of Counties (WSAC) meeting; both held the third week in November. Member Sheila Westerman motioned to cancel the November meeting. The motion was seconded by Member Kees Kolff. No further discussion. The motion passed unanimously. Member Kees Kolff motioned to have a Special Meeting on December 1311 and cancel the Regular Meeting scheduled for December 20, 2018. The motion was seconded by Member Kate Dean. No further discussion. The motion passed unanimously. NEXT SCHEDULED MEETING The next Board of Health meeting will be held on Thursday, December 13, 2018 from 2:30 — 4:30p.m. at Jefferson County Public Health, 615 Sheridan Street, Port Townsend, WA. ADJOURNMENT Chair Speser adjourned the October 18, 2018 Jefferson County Board of Health meeting at 4:22 p.m. JEFFERSON COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH a4-14.. Ariel Speser, Cha Kees f ftj Me er Da id Su ivan, Member Kate D n, Vice -Chair Kat leen Kler, Me ber Sheila Westerman, Member Respectfully submitted J. Matter Page 5 of 5