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Home My WebLink About112124M �e�ehson Public Healt REGULAR MEETING MINUTES Jefferson County Board of Health Thursday, November 21, 2024 @ 2:30 p.m. Jefferson County Courthouse — Commissioners' Chambers 1820 Jefferson Street, Port Townsend, WA Hybrid 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 Amanda Grace,Vice-Chair,Community Stakeholder Alisa Hasbrouck, Environmental Health Manager Dr. Kees Kolff,Public Hospital District#2 Commissioner Barb Jones,CHIP Program Manager Monica MickHager,Port Townsend City Council Apple Martine, Public Health Director [Vacant],Consumer of Public Health Pinky Mingo, Environmental Public Health Director Veronica Shaw, Public Health Deputy Director Chair Dean called the November 21, 2024 meeting of the Jefferson County Board of Health to order at 2:31 p.m. Due to the large number present, Chair Dean suggested that those attending introduce themselves. Members Present: Chair Kate Dean, Vice-Chair Amanda Grace, Members Greg Brotherton, Heidi Eisenhour, Dr. Kees Kolff and Monica MickHager. Staff Present: Staff Members Denise Banker, Dr.Allison Berry, Michael Dawson, Alisa Hasbrouck, Apple Martine, Pinky Mingo and Veronica Shaw. PUBLIC COMMENT Chair Dean called for public comment. Commenter wished to alert the Board to the potential decimation of healthcare due to Project 2025. Member Kolff thanked commenter for their work supporting healthcare in the community. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Chair Dean called for a motion to accept the agenda for November 21, 2024. MOTION: Member Grace moved to approve the agenda. Member Eisenhour seconded the motion,which carried by a unanimous vote. Respectfully submitted Page 1 of 4 G.Gilbert APPROVAL OF MINUTES Chair Dean requested a motion to approve the minutes of the October 17, 2024 meeting. MOTION: Member Brotherton moved to approve the minutes. Member Grace seconded the motion,which carried by a unanimous vote. OLD BUSINESS AND INFORMATIONAL ITEMS 1. Jefferson County Public Health (JCPH)Report Staff Member Martine brought to attention the redesign of the county website, and recognized the Jefferson Healthcare Rural Health Convening. They also spoke about current JCPH programs and activities. 2. Jefferson Healthcare Report Member Kolff reported that the hospital replacement and expansion project is,amazingly, on time, on target and on budget. The hospital has recruited new specialty providers to populate the new hospital space. Progress is being made in finalizing a new mobile health unit to serve south county and other areas. Also, efforts are ratcheting up to advocate for priorities at the state and federal level. 3. State Board of Health Report Chair Dean spoke about a panel discussion of PFAS "forever chemicals." Of local concern,testing of commercially available fish has not indicated high levels of PFAS. The state has denied a petition to disallowed fluoridation of public water systems, and decided to adopt newborn screenings,relying on the federal panel that decides on newborn screening. In response to a question, discussion ensued concerning the risks of PFAS in eggs,the state investigating water supply, and contaminated feed and soil. 4. Infectious Diseases Update Dr. Berry reported respiratory illness rates continue to be relatively low, with low rates of transmission documented in wastewater sampling as well as low rates of emergency visits and hospitalizations. The few hospitalizations tend to be older individuals who are not up-to-date on vaccinations. Influenza is just starting to pick up. All individuals over 6 months of age are encouraged to get this year's COVID and flu vaccines. Those who are at high risk are encouraged to get the RSV vaccine if they did not get it last year. This includes individuals over the age of 70, those over 65 with underlying conditions, and pregnant people who will deliver this winter, as well as children under 8 months of age going into their first RSV season. There is a significant rise in pertussis cases in Washington. No cases have yet been documented this fall in Jefferson County, but we only catch about 10%of cases so it is possible that pertussis is already here but not yet detected. All people, especially those with young children and pregnant people in their lives are encouraged to stay up to date on their pertussis vaccines to reduce their risk of getting and transmitting the bacteria. In response to the public commenter, earlier, Dr. Berry represented that Jefferson County Public Health is an agency independent of state or federal departments of health,making its own decisions based on the best available information and not obligated to follow messaging from the federal government. Discussion ensued. Currently,there are no local cases associated with recent national outbreaks of E. coli related to organic carrots. Respectfully submitted Page 2 of 4 G.Gilbert NEW BUSINESS 1. [POTENTIAL ACTION]Discussion of Board of Health Membership Staff member Martine discussed measures taken to expand efforts to recruit new members for the Board,particularly in regards to the"Consumer of Public Health"member. A resolution was presented which authorized a stipend to non-elected members of the Board. Also,there was discussion of progress being made in regards to a tribal representative to the Board. MOTION: Member Eisenhour moved that we pass the resolution in the matter of stipends for community members of the Board of Health of Jefferson County. Member MickHager seconded the motion,which carried by a unanimous vote. 2. Update on the On-Site Septic Code JCPH staff member Carter Erickson,assisted by staff member Pinky Mingo,described the series of public meetings, and consultations with the state DOH, at which the proposed revised septic code was presented and evaluated. They also enumerated steps yet to be taken prior to adoption. Members of the board and staff expressed appreciation for the work reflected in the code,and the thoughtful process of gathering public feedback;recommendation was made for an additional meeting reaching out to south county. 3. [POTENTIAL ACTION/PUBLIC COMMENT] Changes to Environmental Health Fee Schedule Staff member Mingo presented a resolution to update the environmental health fee schedule,and highlighted an additional change to the schedule not included in the advance copy provided to Board members. An additional change was requested for clarification,and discussion ensued. MOTION: Member Eisenhour happily moved to make a resolution adopting a 2025 updated fee schedule for Jefferson County Environmental Public Health with changes of the addition of the fee for scanning and technology and the changes to the references to soil analysis in the document. Member Kolff seconded the motion,which passed unanimously. 4. [POTENTIAL ACTION] Food Safety Enforcement Policy Staff members Alisa Hasbrouck and Hal-Wayne Woodward presented the new policy,based on FDA program standards and recommendations. The policy provides a clear reference to ensure that food service establishment permitting is consistent,and also that staff members treat food establishments equitably,therefore minimizing legal risk. Several errata in the provided policy were pointed out and corrections proposed. MOTION: Member Grace moved to pass the resolution of the Jefferson County Board of Health for Food Safety Enforcement Policy with the amendment of page 3's renumbering and replacing"cannot"with"can"(in new paragraph 2,page 3.) Members Kolff and Brotherton seconded the motion,which passed unanimously. 5. WSALPHO Training for Local Health Jurisdictions,a wrap-up Members Dean and Kolff spoke concerning the benefits of attending the training,sharing ideas and information with representatives from other health jurisdictions. Also of particular interest were the presentations by tribal member Vicki Lowe and by the Network for Public Health Law(which also provided attendees with a"Micro-Toolkit: Equity Assessment Framework for Public Health Law and Policy.") Discussion ensued concerning possible uses of the Micro-Toolkit. FUTURE POTENTIAL AGENDA TOPICS Staff member Mingo announced the need to bring Code of Compliance Rules and Procedure to the Board. Staff members Martine and Berry mentioned that"DEIA"(diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility)was removed from the list of future topics, as it should inform everything the Board does but does not need to be a singular topic. Respectfully submitted Page 3 of 4 G.Gilbert Member Kolff enquired about the Child Development Center,questioning whether it need remain on the agenda list, as it has been funded and will soon break ground. Chair Dean stated that the scope of the project has grown,and recommended having a speaker address intended services. Member Grace suggested a discussion of homeless displacement and how it's handled in this community. Discussion ensued concerning a wider discourse on homelessness issues. Member Kolff suggested a placeholder for a time to review public health impacts resulting from federal initiatives, changes made by executive order or by changes in governmental agencies,that may impact this community. ANNOUNCEMENTS There was a discussion concerning the difficulty in finding written public comment via the county website. AGENDA PLANNING CALENDAR The Agenda Planning Meeting for the next regular meeting of the Board will be held on December 12, 2024 at 10:30 a.m. The next regular Board of Health meeting will be held as a hybrid meeting on Thursday,December 19,2024 from 2:30 p.m.—4:30 p.m. ADJOURNMENT Chair Dean adjourned the November 21,2024 Jefferson County Board of Health meeting at 4:12 p.m.until the next Regular Meeting or Special Meeting as properly noticed. JEFFERSON COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH Kate Dean, Ch�• Glenn Gilbert, Public Health Assistant Respectfully submitted Page 4 of 4 G.Gilbert