HomeMy WebLinkAboutBoard of Health August 3 20101
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WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL
Board of Health
August 3, 2010
CALL TO ORDER
Council Chair Sam Crawford called the meeting to order at 10:35 a.m. in the Council
Chambers, 311 Grand Avenue, Bellingham, Washington.
ROLL CALL
Present: Barbara Brenner, Sam Crawford, Bill Knutzen, L. Ward Nelson and Carl
Weimer
Absent: Ken Mann and Kathy Kershner
1. PUBLIC SESSION (10:34:58 AM)
No one spoke.
2. ACHIEVE UPDATE (10 :35:12 AM)
Regina Delahunt, Health Department Director, stated the one area where the Health
Department is working toward a systems level approach is the Achieve program.
Astrid Newell, Health Department, referenced and read from the materials in the
Board packet and gave a staff report. She described the background and purpose of the
Achieve project. They have completed the community action plan. Many community
partners were involved in the plan. The plan creates a framework for work in the
community. They are focusing on systems, policies, and the environment. Make it easier
for people to adopt healthy behaviors. She described the three focus areas of nutrition,
physical activity, and tobacco use prevention. Groups may present their ideas for
addressing the different areas to the Board. Staff working with school districts on the
health outcomes.
Discussion included the correlation among economy, education, and health;
connecting groups of neighborhood parents to walk children to school; the Centers for
Disease Control (CDC) change tool; the Complete Streets transportation program in an
urban versus rural environment; including the health benefits of a potential Nooksack Loop
trail in this program; (10:54 :20 AM) making people understand that the Health Department
is changing to a systems approach instead of relying on an old program approach; not
setting deadlines, given the economic situation, and; decreases in education quality and
increasing youth tobacco use.
3. PUBLIC HEALTH PRIORITIZATION (10 :58 :55 AM)
Overview
Regina Delahunt, Health Department Director, stated they've been working to
prioritize programs. Today, go through each service to identify which are mandated,
essential, or should be handled differently or eliminated.
Board of Health, 8/3/2010, Page 1
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Discussion included modifying mandated services such as the onsite septic system
(OSS) program and addressing potential shortfalls in the State and federal budgets on local
public health services.
Community Health Services
Astrid Newell, Health Department, read from the Board packet regarding the services
to provide leadership at the systems level and services to explore for modification or
elimination.
Discussion included why tobacco use is on the rise again; prohibitive child labor laws
that prevent kids from getting healthy jobs in the fresh air; having Health Department staff
to direct citizens to community services rather than administrators; (11 :17 :49 AM) getting
the Tribes to take over the child oral health program; how the Health Department will
provide quality assurance and technical assistance to the immunization service providers;
the costs of travel immunizations impacting public health; using the Medical Reserve Corps
to provide vaccinations for emergency response, and; coordinating with other counties for
an epidemiologist on staff.
Environmental Health Services (11 :37 :36 AM)
John Wolpers, Health Department, read from the Board packet regarding the
environmental health services to explore for modification or elimination and mandated
services to modify.
Discussion included whether there is a recent analysis of potential contamination in
Group B drinking water systems; whether the local community can raise fees to do local
Group B inspections; inspecting fewer Group B sites and focusing only on older systems;
educating water associations for Group B systems of their responsibilities; (11 :51 :16 AM)
not eliminating the OSS enforcement or homeowner education classes entirely; retaining
OSS focus on Drayton Harbor, Lake Whatcom, and Birch Bay; moving from active
enforcement to passive enforcement; knowing the rate of non - response of the report of
system status (ROSS); the OSS inventory, and; how OSS education will increase with the
modifications.
ADJOURN
The meeting adjourned at 12:04 p.m.
Please contact the Council Office to obtain an
official, signed copy:
360- 676 -6690 or council &o.w hatcom .wa.us
Dana Brown - Davis, Council Clerk
Sam Crawford, Council Chair
Board of Health, 8/3/2010, Page 2