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Home My WebLink About10 October County Health & Human Services HEALTH BOARD MINUTES OCTOBER 22, 1996 CITY OF PORT TOWNSEND REPRESENTATIVE: Ted Shoulberg, City Council Member STAFF MEMBERS: David Specter, Director of Health and Human Services Jean Baldwin, Director of Nursing Services Larry Fay, Director of Environmental Health Chester Prudhomme, Director of Substance Abuse Thomas Locke, M.D., Health Officer BOARD MEMBERS: Robert Hinton, Chairman Richard Wojt, Member Glen Huntingford, Member The meeting was called to order by Chairman Robert Hinton. The following Board and staff members were present: Commissioner Glen Huntingford, Commissioner Richard Wojt, David Specter, Larry Fay, Jean Baldwin, Judi Morris, and Health Officer Thomas Locke, M.D. Chester Prudhomme and the City Council's representative Ted Shoulberg were not present. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Commissioner Huntingford moved to approve the minutes of September 25, 1996 as presented. Commissioner Wojt seconded the motion which carried by a unanimous vote. PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD: No public comments. DIRECTOR'S REPORT FINANCIAL REPORT: David Specter reported that 73.1 % of the budget has been expended and 66.2% of budgeted revenues have been collected as of October 1, 1996. Expenses are below budget projections, while revenue is low due to the delay in operating transfers and overdue payments from other funding sources. A detailed year-end projection was completed for the preliminary budget. The actual figures for 1996 are expected to be less than budget projections. David Specter reported that the Public Health Management Team including himself and Dr. Thomas Locke will be attending a two day training seminar this week in Olympia. This is the second series of the public health core functions training put on by the State Department of Health. The topic is "Administration", focusing on three areas: 1) Leading individuals through times of change; 2) Community involvement/mobilization activities; and 3) Policy development. He presented the Board with copies of thp tr~ininB r:n1lrll;:.e oqt1ine ~nd llfged the mpmhpfS to read it in mOTiF' detail HEALTH DEPARTMENT 360/385-9400 ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH 360/385-9444 DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES 360/385-9400 ALCOHOL/DRUG ABUSE CENTER 360/385-9435 FAX 360/385-9401 HEALTH BOARD MINUTES - JULY 23, 1996 Page: 2 NURSING DIRECTOR'S REPORT COMMUNITY MOBTT .TZA TION: Jean Baldwin reported that the next meeting on the Community Mobilization project will be held on Thursday, November 14, 1996 at Fort Worden. She met with representatives from the City Council to insure that managers of youth focused services attend the meeting as well. The plan is being presented by various groups around the County. In February of next year there will be follow up meeting conducted and paid for by the School Districts and the City of Port Townsend. Jean Baldwin stated that she sent a letter to the Board of Commissioners requesting the funding that they approved for this project last July. Commissioner W ojt stated that he had heard that Jefferson County is the only County that does not have a Community Network Plan. Jean Baldwin stated that is correct, however the Community Network Plan is different than the Community Mobilization Plan. Commissioner Huntingford briefly explained how the two plans differ. Jean Baldwin reported on her efforts to increase membership and community involvement on the Network. It has been a very difficult task, since nobody is interested in participating. She added that the same person that wrote Clallam County's plan has been contracted to write the plan for Jefferson County. She reported that the Quilcene School District may be interested in contracting with the Health Department for school health services and A.I.D.S. education. If this occurs, then all five school districts will be receiving the same services. PROGRAM UPDATE: Jean Baldwin is in the process of rewriting all the job descriptions for the nursing staff. She hopes to have them completed before union negotiations begin. She is also conducting some internal program audits. Maternity Support is one area she is looking at. A Family Planning manual was developed for the staff and they are currently working on a similar manual for Maternity Support. She eXplained changes the Health Department is making to the Women, Infant, and Children (W.I.C.) program which will make it easier for clients to be served in a timely manner. Part of the Community Mobilization project is to get kids involved. One idea being considered is a mural contest. Ten walls around town will need to be donated and teams of kids will be chosen to participate through a poster contest. There will be plenty of supervision and no spray cans of paint will be allowed, only paint brushes. ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH DIRECTOR'S REPORT PROGRAM UPDATE: Larry Fay reported that the Health Department is considering the establishment of an Onsite Sewage Advisory Committee to focus on the operation and maintenance requirements which are in the new State regulations. It states in the new regulations that all Counties must develop an operation and maintenance program for all sewage systems by the year 2000. The committee will work on recommendations and strategies until 1997 and then work on implementing the program by developing a policy or ordinance in 1998 and 1999. The committee will consist of approximately 10 members including septic system designers, installers, engineers, a representative from the Public Utility District (p.UD.), the Home Builders Association, a watershed planning expert, etc. Larry Fay stated that the State's regulations do not set minimum standards, although, there are several different models to use. This will allow for some creativity. HEALTH BOARD MINUTES - JULY 23, 1996 Page: 3 Commissioner Huntingford asked what authority there is to go onto privately owned property? Lany Fay stated that is unclear at this point. The regulations state that the Health Department can enter privately owned property for inspections, however, there is no statutory authority. Discussion ensued regarding frequency of inspections and funding for this process. HEALTH OFFICER'S REPORT Dr. Thomas Locke stated that the Board will be hearing a lot more about the inspection issue as the legislature goes into session. The Codes say that local governments have inspection power, but it depends on the Courts to enforce it. Recently, Courts have been declining to enforce it when there is an absence of imminent danger or public health emergency. Therefore, in dealing with the onsite sewage system codes, new legislation will be drafted to try to balance public health with preserving privacy rights and freedom from unreasonable search. It is a very controversial issue. Dr. Locke stated that getting the community involved in public health can be difficult. Government will never have the resources all by itself to carry out aU the things that need to be done to protect public health. It is a broad based community responsibility. One of the reasons for the lack of community participation in public health may have to do with the way the problem of community organization is approached. Community groups are formed to deal with crisis's, needs, and problems. So the difficulty in organizing these groups is not too surprising. Most people feel inadequate in dealing with the extensive social problems in the community. Some groups around the Country have tried to turn things around and adopt an alternate organizing strategy. This process does not ignore community problems, it tries to recruit participation by focusing on the assets of the community. It targets not just the local institutions that are typically relied upon (schools, local governments, hospitals, colleges, etc.), it also targets citizen organizations and individuals. Public Health has been made the exclusive domain of the public sector when in fact, aU the trend analyses suggest that the future will involve much more public sector and private sector collaboration. So in order to accommodate these trends, other organizing models should be considered. Basically, its a newer and more positive perspective on the same issues. Hearing no new business, the meeting was adjourned. The next meeting will be held on Tuesday, November 26, 1996 at 1 :30 p.m. UNTY BOARD OF HEALTH " .'--~ er