December 19, 2005 Board of Health Minutes, Calhoun County, Michigan (MI)

Board of Health Minutes

Calhoun County Board of Health
Meeting of the Board of Health
December 19, 2005 – 8:00 a.m., Marshall Law Library
Meeting Minutes

ATTENDEES

Board of Health	Health Department
Larry Anderson	Dottie-Kay Bowersox
Jean Cook-Hughes	Ted Havens
Byron MacDonald	Brigette Reichenbaugh
Ben Miller	Dr. Gregory Harrington
Dr. Jeffrey Mitchell
Ken Ponds

Calhoun County
Jim Latham
Nancy Mullett
Greg Purcell

Call to Order and Introductions

Anderson called the meeting to order at 8:09 a.m. Anderson announced that Mr. Rick Tsoumas, elected Board Member, will be absent today. Anderson added assignment of an alternate MALPH (Michigan Association of Local Public Health) representative to the agenda. Anderson motioned for approval of the agenda with the addition. Ponds moved. Mitchell supported. All in favor.

Appeal

Havens received a note from Mr. Blaski, appellant, that he read to the Board. Mr. Blaski requested another appeal late in 2006. The Board and legal counsel discussed several options (denial, withdrawal by appellant, or postpone). Mac moved for denial. Mitchell seconded. All in favor.

Consent Agenda

Mitchell moved approval. Anderson has a revision to the December 12, 2005 minutes. Mac moved approval of the November 2005 minutes withdrawing the December 12 meeting minutes. McDonald asked that acronyms be corrected. All in favor. Miller noted that included in the December 12, 2005 minutes was BOH acceptance of Cook-Hughes resignation effective December 31, 2005. Miller corrected the election of BOH candidate wording to read “that four Commissioners would vote for Alberta Duck.” Miller moved approval as amended. Ponds supported. All in favor.

Finance Officer’s Report

Jim Latham presented. Mitchell asked if Latham could do a trend analysis where the Health Department (HD) ended the last three years. McDonald asked that all Board members receive a print out of each program’s purpose, the mission of the program, and where it stands (complete every three months). McDonald asked if we will hire a Finance Officer. Bowersox suggested that we look at a position that is Finance Officer/Deputy Health Officer and a non-union position. Purcell stated that the County is in discussion with Bowersox reviewing several options. He would like to see all management positions become non-union and stated “he would like managers taken out of the union so they can act as managers.”

Medical Director’s Report

Dr. Harrington addressed the Board regarding Avian flu. Miller asked what we can do to prevent contracting the flu. The “eater” of the bird will not contract directly, but the handler may contract. Harrington suggested “The Great Influence” by John Berry (i.e., how the Spanish flu influenced the population).

Board Education and Discussion

Larry stated that two candidates were selected during the December 12, 2005 special meeting of the board, Rick Tsoumas and Kathy Foerster. Tsoumas was appointed at the December 15, 2005 Commissioner meeting. Purcell asked that this be revisited for discussion. McDonald asked for clarification of Foerster’s experience and stated again that he would like to see a Marshall Representative. McDonald reviewed Ms. Drozdowski’s experience and her qualifications. Ms. Foerster was recommended for Commissioner consideration and approval for appointment to the Board of Health to replace Cook-Hughes.

Health Officer’s Report

Endowment Fund: Part of this account is expendable and part is considered a savings account. The expendable amount can be spent by the Health Department any way it chooses.

Health Partnership: The IUOE (International Union of Operating Engineers) agreed to remove the Health Partnership Coordinator position from the Union. This position has been posted as a contractual position. The Chair, Co-chair, and Health Officer have met to discuss the program. They will meet in six months to revisit (continue with HD, find another handler, or review other options).

Healthy Communities Access Program (HCAP): Identified, itemized, and pursuing evaluation that includes an outside reviewer. This information will be sent to the Regional Health Alliance (RHA) for further review and discussion.

Albion Health Care Alliance: Oaklawn Hospital will staff and pick up the Albion Student Health Center project resulting in a good collaboration with Albion. Bowersox spoke with the Albion Alliance who is in favor of this.

Environmental Health Fees: The Health Department is currently completing a five-year trend analysis. We will begin town-hall meetings in January and will have further information in February. We will present findings to the Board of Health in April/late spring. Miller stated that all suggested increases in are considered “Dead on Arrival” at the Commissioner level. Anderson feels the community prefers gradual increases rather than a large increase every five years (per say). We are considering all avenues and listening to what the consumers have to say. Dr. Mitchell stated he would like to see benchmarking with other counties and where the current fee stands with actual cost. Purcell suggested that we look at the predictability and speak to restaurant owners prior to any suggested increase. McDonald asked what amount was built into the budget for Environmental Health (EH) fee increase. Latham stated approximately $25,000. We are currently operating at an $84,000 deficit. Part of this will be saved by management salaries, program review, bargaining contract negotiations, etc. McDonald asked if the County will take any of the fund balance this fiscal year. Purcell and Latham stated that there are no plans to take any of the HD fund balance but they will not rule it out.

Nursing Clinic of Battle Creek: Bowersox reviewed the application for Medicare Part B application. Since the BOH is the governing Board and the managing provider of the NCBC, BOH members were asked to complete the application provided.

Alternate Michigan Association of Local Public Health (MALPH) CCPHD representative: Dr. Mitchell will serve as the MALPH alternate.

Motion for adjournment. 9:25 a.m.