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Home My WebLink About051922M BOH dellason Public Hea It MINUTES Jefferson County Board of Health Regular Meeting, May 19, 2:30 p.m. Jefferson County Public Health, 615 Sheridan Street, Port Townsend WA 98368 Virtual Meeting Board Members Staff Members Greg Brotherton,County Commissioner,District#3 Denise Banker,Community Health Director Kate Dean,Chair,County Commissioner District#1 Dr.Allison Berry,Health Officer Heidi Eisenhour,County Commissioner,District#2 Michael Dawson,Water Quality Manager Kees Kolff,Public Hospital District#2 Commissioner Lori Fleming,CHIP Executive Director Denis Stearns,Vice Chair,Citizen at large Alisa Hasbrouck,Environmental Health Manager Libby Wennstrom, Port Townsend City Council Apple Martine,Public Health Director Sheila Westerman,Citizen at large Pinky Mingo,Environmental Public Health Director Veronica Shaw,Public Health Deputy Director Chair Brotherton called the May 19, 2022 virtual meeting of the Jefferson County Board of Health to order at 2:32 p.m. A quorum was present. Members Present: Chair Greg Brotherton, Members Kate Dean, Heidi Eisenhour, Kees Kolff, Denis Stearns, Libby Wennstrom and Sheila Westerman. Staff Present: Staff Members Denise Banker,Michael Dawson, Lori Fleming,Alisa Hasbrouck, Dr. Tom Locke, Apple Martine, Pinky Mingo and Veronica Shaw. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Chair Brotherton requested a motion to approve the agenda for May 19, 2022. MOTION: Member Dean moved to approve the agenda. Member Kolff seconded the motion which carried by a unanimous vote. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Chair Brotherton requested approval of the minutes for the April 16,2022 Regular Meeting. Member Kolff recommended a small change to the draft minutes: the reference to"a 2-year in-depth review" should be amended to say"an every 2-year in depth review." MOTION: Member Kolff moved to approve the minutes as amended.Member Dean seconded the motion which carried by a unanimous vote. Respectfully submitted Page 1 of 3 G.Gilbert PUBLIC COMMENT Chair Brotherton referenced a written public comment concerning giardia infections spread by deer; in Staten Island, NY, $5 million was spent to sterilize male deer. Chair Brotherton called for public comment. The following is a summary of comments made virtually by individuals in attendance at the meeting and reflect their personal opinions: • On speaking about a recent experience visiting a terminal patient in the hospital(in Port Angeles), one commenter lamented the stringent restrictions in place concerning the number of visitors to ICU patients, and suggested a causal relationship between COVID vaccination and the patient's cancer recurrence. Board members and staff addressed comments and concerns raised during the Public Comment Period, particularly addressing zoonotic diseases as they affect public health in the Northwest. OLD BUSINESS AND INFORMATIONAL ITEMS 1. Jefferson Healthcare Update Board Member Kolff addressed issues currently impacting the hospital, including the spike in COVID cases(indoor masking highly recommended), and an ongoing series of community education forums regarding hospital campus expansion plans. Recent honors: the entire Jefferson Healthcare staff was honored as grand marshal of the Rhody Parade. Also, at the recent annual meeting of the Washington State Hospital Association, its president noted that Jefferson County has "a model of public health and the hospital district working together"that exists in no other county of which she is aware. Public Health Officer Dr. Allison Berry is on the list of nominations for several awards being donated by the Chamber. 2. Jefferson County Public Health Program Reports Staff member Martine announced that Jefferson County ranked 12`h out of Washington State's 39 counties, based on evaluation of 90 health influencing factors. She also described Public Health's contributions and activities with regard to COVID control and treatment,as well as other community health services. She mentioned two grants recently received to support Public Health's work, and described recruitment efforts and challenges to fill current employment vacancies. Discussion followed. 3. COVID Pandemic Update Deputy Public Health Officer Dr. Tom Locke provided an update on the COVID-19 virus. COVID has been worse than expected, deaths have probably been underestimated(and many were likely preventable), and COVID is far from over. The current surge is due to an Omicron subvariant. Jefferson and Clallam counties are among the Washington counties with the highest rates of infection, possibly due to doing a better job of reporting. Each new subvariant demonstrates an increase in transmissibility, but infections tend to be less virulent,particularly among those who have received at least three doses of vaccine. A mild summer is expected, with expectation of a fall surge. Boosters are recommended; vaccines may not prevent infection,but do prevent more serious infection. Discussion ensued. NEW BUSINESS 1. Climate Change Grant, "Climate&Health Adaptation Initiative (CHAI)," brief update Staff member Michael Dawson introduced JCPH staff member Lara Gaasland-Tatro,who described the small grant for two-months of training, outreach and education focused on climate and health. Discussion. Respectfully submitted Page 2 of 3 G.Gilbert 2. Reorganization of the Board of Health: recruitment discussion Staff member Martine recommended creating a sub-committee to forward the work of finding candidates for non- elected BoH members according to the new state rules. Members Dean, Eisenhour and Stearns will join staff member Martine on the subcommittee. 3. National Public Health Week: Awarding of Public Health Heroes in June Staff member Martine described progress of preparation for the Public Health Heroes Awards, scheduled to be awarded at the June BoH meeting. 4. Recycling: Upcoming Changes Presentation JCPH staff member Laura Tucker provided a presentation on the history and current practices of recycling in Jefferson County. ACTIVITY UPDATE /// AGENDA PLANNING CALENDAR The Agenda Planning Meeting for the April Board meeting will be held on June 8,2022 at 1:00 p.m. The next Board of Health meeting will be held online as a virtual meeting on Thursday,June 16, 2022 from 2:30 p.m. —4:30 p.m. ADJOURNMENT Chair Brotherton adjourned the May 19,2022 Jefferson County Board of Health meeting at 4:34 p.m.until the next Regular Meeting or Special Meeting as properly noticed. JEFFERSON COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH old Agrask -g :rotherton, Chair Glenn Gilbert, Public Health Assistant Respectfully submitted Page 3 of 3 G. Gilbert