HomeMy WebLinkAboutBoard of Health March 6 20181
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WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL
Board of Health
March 6, 2018
CALL TO ORDER
Council Chair Rud Browne called the meeting to order at 10:30 a.m. in the Council
Chambers, 311 Grand Avenue, Bellingham, Washington.
ROLL CALL
Present: Barry Buchanan, Barbara Brenner, Rud Browne, Todd Donovan, Satpal
Sidhu, and Timothy Ballew
Absent: Tyler Byrd
1. PUBLIC SESSION
No one spoke.
2. DIRECTOR /HEALTH OFFICER REPORT
Regina Delahunt, Health Department Director, spoke about transitioning the Women,
Infants, and Children (WIC) program to a community health center. She answered
questions about the continuing need for the service; whether participants will get better
service from another provider; the advantages of co- locating the service with primary care,
which the Health Department no longer provides; using the general funds on another
program to continue supporting children; the role of public health; the connection between
the Health Department and people who are eligible for the WIC Program; comparison with
the food stamp program; other agencies having a lower operating cost than the County; the
value of the food benefit that's distributed; plans for the current WIC Program staff;
potential impact to the Nurse Family Partnership Program; convenience to the client by co-
locating the program with other services; other providers are already providing the WIC
Program services; and caseloads of the other providers.
Kelly Molaski, Health Department, answered questions on the different demographics
between SeaMar and County clients.
Delahunt gave a staff report about opioid use prevention efforts, expansion of the
crisis triage facility, and the status of State and County drug take -back statutes.
Dr. Greg Stern, Health Officer, spoke about the role of the public health system and
updated the Board about this year's influenza outbreak. He answered questions on the
influenza strain that circulated locally, how long a vaccine lasts, and the best time to get the
vaccine.
Board of Health, 3/6/2018, Page 1
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3. PUBLIC HEALTH ADVISORY BOARD (PHAB) UPDATE
Rachel Lucy Cecka, Public Health Advisory Board Chair, gave a report on the PHAB
bylaws in the Board packet, organizing a joint meeting of the PHAB and Board, and topics to
discuss at a joint meeting.
Board members indicated they would like to discuss the following items at a joint
meeting with the PHAB:
• Homeless issues and their contributing factors
• The impacts of the opiate use crisis
• The Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program
• High -risk users of the community health programs
• How much the Health Department should provide direct services
• Improving the information on the return on investment for taxpayer dollars
and for citizens who adopt best health practices
• The local rate of child abuse and neglect being higher than the State's rate
• The language barriers to accessing health information
PHAB.
Browne stated the PHAB will schedule a joint meeting between the Board and the
The Board concurred by general consent.
4. HEALTHY PLANNING RESOLUTION UPDATE
Rachel Lucy Cecka, Public Health Advisory Board (PHAB) Chair, introduced the
presentation.
Astrid Newell, Health Department, and Chris Elder, Planning and Development
Services Department, referenced and read from the summary in the Board packet. They
submitted and read from a presentation on Healthy Planning Resolution (on file). The Board
should assign the PHAB the task of establishing a Task Force to look at food system
planning. They answered questions.
Staff and Board members discussed how they connect with large grocery chains to
carry local produce, the lack of a grocery in east county, zoning issues that may impact food
access, working with the Port of Bellingham on economic development to convert raw
material into processed material, moving away from a program that brings in federal funds,
and home gardens.
Buchanan moved to assign the PHAB the task of establishing a Task Force to look
at food system planning.
The motion was seconded.
The motion carried by the following vote:
Ayes: Ballew, Brenner, Browne, Buchanan, Sidhu, and Donovan (6)
Nays: None (0)
Absent: Byrd (1)
Board of Health, 3/6/2018, Page 2
1 S. GENERATIONS FORWARD WORK AND FUTURE POLICY OPPORTUNITIES
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3 Rachel Lucy Cecka, Public Health Advisory Board (PHAB) Chair, introduced the
4 presentation and stated they want to keep the focus on child and family wellbeing for 2018.
5 They want to continue the progress they made in 2017.
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7 Astrid Newell, Health Department, stated it's a collaborative initiative to think about
8 how to support children and families as a system in Whatcom County. They need additional
9 participation from the Health Board, including a Board Member to serve as a designated
10 liaison for the Generations Forward work. They will continue this discussion at the Council's
11 Public Works and Health Committee.
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13 Staff and Councilmembers discussed the City of Bellingham's level of participation in
14 affordable housing.
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17 ADJOURN
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19 The meeting adjourned at 12:10 p.m.
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22 The County Council approved these minutes on April 10, 2018.
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25 ATT '
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26 �\NTCO
29 = -
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31 Danq B; wn- Davis, Coocil Clerk
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33 - — -
34 z Far
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36 Jill Nixon, Minutes Transcription
WHATGON COUNTY COUNCIL
WHAT�O COU WASHINGTON
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Rud Browne, Council Chair
Board of Health, 3/6/2018, Page 3