HomeMy WebLinkAbout009 19JEFFERSON COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH
In the Matter of Recognizing that Public Health)
is Essential State -Wide, the BOH call on the )
Washington State Legislature to Provide the ) RESOLUTION NO. 09-19
Critical Down Payment to Support Core )
Services in all Communities )
WHEREAS, the public health system in Washington provides the foundation for the larger health care framework,
working to prevent illness and disease while supporting the work of community partners; and
WHEREAS, tracking, responding to, and preventing costly food and water contamination and disease outbreaks is
essential to protecting the public's health; and
WHEREAS, state and local public health officials, together with local leaders, have identified an agreed upon set of
core public health services that should be available for every Washingtonian; and
WHEREAS, after a century of increasing life expectancies, today these gains are threatened by new and more
complex diseases, continued tobacco use and preventable chronic diseases, putting today's children at risk of
becoming the first generation to have shorter life expectancies than their parents; and
WHEREAS, the public's well-being is also threatened by public health's inability to meet is basic responsibility to
provide these core services due to changes in its funding structure, complex and new diseases, and growing
populations; and
WHEREAS, the motor vehicle excise tax was repealed in 2000, leaving the public health system without an
adequate and sustainable funding source; and
WHEREAS, Washington state's population has grown by more than one million residents since 2000, and is
expected to grow by another two million residents by 2025; and
WHEREAS, the increased complexity of communicable and infectious diseases and exposure to new diseases as
well as the resurgence of vaccine -preventable diseases requires Jefferson County Public Health (JCPH) staff to gain
and maintain knowledge and expertise in an ever increasing number of disease threats and calls for increasing and
engaging in active rather than passive surveillance; and
WHEREAS, due to these complexities disease investigations and controlling disease outbreaks such as food -borne
illnesses, vector-borne illnesses, or toxics investigations take longer and require increased expertise; and
WHEREAS, the longer it takes to identify and investigate a disease, the farther the disease can spread resulting in
increased illness and death; and
WHEREAS, immunization rates in Jefferson County are lower than the statewide average and have been for many
years. The health department has very limited resources to work with schools and no resources to work with
daycare and early learning programs and facilities or with the broader community of parents and our elderly
residents on the efficacy of immunizations and the morbidity and mortality associated with vaccine preventable
diseases; and
WHEREAS, Jefferson County Public Health has emergency response plans sitting on its shelves, but no resources
to enable staff to exercise those plans either locally or regionally thus ensuring that staff are not adequately
prepared to mount the most effective response to a man-made or natural disaster, including a pandemic; and
WHEREAS, Jefferson County, like most counties statewide, is experiencing rising numbers of opioid use disorder
along with the costly impacts of ongoing alcohol and other drug use disorders
WHEREAS, these are but a few examples of core services expected of every local health jurisdiction; and
WHEREAS, over the last four years, state, local, and Tribal public health leaders have developed a plan to
modernize the state's public health system, ensuring core services are available everywhere and identifying others
that can be effectively and efficiently shared between health jurisdictions; and
WHEREAS, without securing ongoing, stable, and dedicated funding for core public health services, our
communities are left unprepared for emergencies like hazardous air from wildfires, and vulnerable to the spread of
communicable diseases like mumps and whooping cough; and
WHEREAS, rebuilding and refocusing our public health services means we can better monitor and coordinate
emergency responses—keeping our families and communities safe, reducing costs for taxpayers, and protecting our
local economy;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, the Jefferson County Board of Health calls on the Washington state
legislature to recognize that public health is essential and provide the critical $100 million down payment to
provide meaningful support for core services in all communities and allow public health to rebuild its statewide
system with added efficiency. The Jefferson County Board of Health is ready to stand with the Legislature to
support sustainable public health funding and identify the resources necessary to fund it.
APPROVED, ADOPTED AND PASSED, THIS Qday of / , 2019.
JEFFERSON COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH
Ariel Speser, Chair
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Kate Dean, Member
Gregrotherton, ember
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Sheila Westerman, Member