HomeMy WebLinkAboutHealth Board May 2 2023FIVITR 1. I iM, 7
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COUNTY COURTHOUSE
311 Grand avenue, Ste #105
Bellingham, WA 98225-4038
(360)778-5010
Minutes - Final
Tuesday, May 2, 2023
10 AM
Council Chambers / Hybrid Meeting
HYBRID MEETING (PARTICIPATE IN -PERSON, SEE REMOTE JOINT
INSTRUCTIONS AT www.whatcomcounty.us/joinvirtualcouncil, OR CALL
360.778.5010)
COUNCILMEMBERS
Barry Buchanan
Tyler Byrd
Todd Donovan
Ben Elenbaas
Carol Frazey
Kaylee Galloway
Kathy Kershner
CLERK OF THE COUNCIL
Dana Brown -Davis, C.M.C.
Council as the Health Board Minutes - Final May 2, 2023
Call To Order
Health Board Chair Barry Buchanan called the meeting to order at 10:02
a.m. in a hybrid meeting.
Roll Call of the Health Board
Present: 7 - Barry Buchanan, Tyler Byrd, Todd Donovan, Ben Elenbaas, Carol Frazey,
Kaylee Galloway, and Kathy Kershner
Announcements
Public Comment
The following person spoke:
• Natalie Chavez
Hearing no one else, Buchanan closed the Public Comment period.
Health Officer/Health Director Updates
Greg Thompson, Co -Health Officer, stated they have been seeing an uptick
in the effects of the opioid crisis and specifically the fentanyl crisis in
Whatcom County. He stated that Whatcom Health and Community Services
Department and a number of partner organizations are in the planning stages
for a meeting on June 27 and 28, 2023 in partnership with the Alcohol and
Drug Abuse Institute from the University of Washington. There will be
local content presented during the afternoons of both days that focuses on
the nature of the opioid crisis and fentanyl, some interventions that are
happening and needed in our community, and planning what we can do to go
forward.
Erika Lautenbach, Health and Community Services Director, updated the
Health Board on new Health and Community Services Department staff
including:
® Shamika Brooks, who replaced Cindy Hollinsworth (who retired) as
the Communicable Disease and Epidemiology Manager
® Heather McGuinness, Partnerships and Strategy Supervisor for the
new Community and Organizational Development Division
Lynnette Bennett, Manager for the new Community and
Organizational Development Division
She spoke about the June 27 and 28 meeting mentioned earlier, and stated
that starting today, the Health and Community Services Department will be
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Council as the Health Board Minutes - Final May 2, 2023
developing the framework for an incident command structure for opioid and
specifically fentanyl and they will be standing that up shortly. They have
been in conversation with the Executive and the Mayor of Bellingham and
expect to receive a request from them about standing up a multi -agency
coordination group which will help us align our efforts to be more efficient
in the support of those individuals and agencies that are involved with
fentanyl
Aging and Older Adults in Whatcom County
The following people presented (presentation attached to Meeting Details):
® Heather Flaherty, Aging Well Whatcom - Chuckanut Health
Foundation
® Lara Welker, Aging Well Whatcom - Chuckanut Health Foundation
® Chris Orr, Whatcom Council on Aging
® Bethany Chamberlin, Northwest Regional Council
Flaherty introduced the presentation.
Welker presented on a data overview of older adults in Whatcom County,
where they live throughout the county, older adult population change in the
last three years compared to the overall population, projected older adult
populations in Whatcom County through 2040, Whatcom County race and
ethnicity population estimates in 2020, the percent of older adults living
alone, the number of seniors accounted for in point and time counts from
2012-2022, the Aging Well Whatcom Blueprint 2022 update (attached to
the Meeting Details) and its focus areas, the development of the Blueprint
from 2018-2019, and the community engagement for the Blueprint Update
in 2021-2022 and key learning from that.
Orr presented on the Whatcom Council on Aging's mission, programs,
work with partners for resource fairs, top challenges, and the organization's
opportunities, including the pursuit of a central kitchen for senior meals and
continued investment in county senior center facilities and staffing to
support the growing and diversifying senior community.
Bethany Chamberlin, presented on the Northwest Regional Council,
including an overview of the organization, programs and services, the
challenge of the caregiver shortage, and the opportunity for WA Cares
Funding to help next generations put away money for their future care.
Flaherty invited the following other community partners to share about their
organizations:
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Council as the Health Board Minutes - Final May 2, 2023
Other Business
• Jennifer Lautenbach, Lynden Senior and Community Center
Executive Director
• Karen Burke, YWCA Executive Director
• Becky Kirkland, PeaceHealth Center for Senior Health Manager
• Dan Gray, Dementia Support Northwest Executive Director
• Josselyn Winslow, cofounder of Voluntarily Stopping Eating and
Drinking (VSED) Resources Northwest and of Dementia Support
Northwest
Flaherty closed the presentation and the speakers answered what the method
was for the point in time count of seniors and how they went about that,
questions about the WA Cares Fund and how it works, what more the
Council can do for senior centers, how the county's senior centers are
owned, and whether they are having capacity issues with those spaces.
Kershner thanked the speakers and stated there are so many issues with
aging and she wants to echo that the WA Cares program is not enough.
Buchanan asked what the biggest challenges are around workforce and the
biggest strategies around those challenges. The speakers stated they need to
pay more for these positions and give them benefits, and they need
intergenerational support in the community.
Dana Brown -Davis, Clerk of the Council, spoke about a thought or request
that she heard around the beginning of this year for having joint Public
Health Advisory Board (PHAB) meetings every time there was a Health
Board meeting so it would be a joint meeting of those two groups. She
stated she got some questions about that during the scheduling of this
meeting and asked whether the Council might like to discuss whether that
was something they wanted to do for future meetings.
Buchanan moved that they have joint Health Board / Public Health
Advisory Board (PHAB) meetings going forward for Health Board
meetings. The motion was seconded by Galloway.
Donovan stated he knows this was a request from the PHAB but asked if it
had something to do with the need to make it a larger body to fit with the
State law change.
Erika Lautenbach, Health and Community Services Director, spoke about
why this was requested. She stated per State change (House Bill) 1152,
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Public Health Advisory Boards are now required to have a role in weighing
in on policies that the Health Board considers so this would create a very
streamlined process by which they could concurrently weigh in while the
Health Board is considering policies. The Health Board also only meets
four times a year and there are topics that are universal to both the Health
Board and the PHAB. The hope was that four times a year there would be
topics, universally of interest to both boards and that impact both bodies,
for which they could jointly consider policies or have further conversation
about.
Galloway stated there are a lot of areas of opportunity for our Health Board
and PHAB to weigh in on a multitude of issues that have to do with public
health so she thinks there is opportunity to grow as a body. Streamlining our
processes and systems of collaboration with the PHAB will take us to a new
level. She would support this motion and would even support meeting more
frequently than quarterly.
The motion carried by the following vote:
Aye: S - Buchanan, Donovan, Frazey, Galloway, and Kershner
Nay: 2 - Byrd and Elenbaas
Buchanan stated their August Health Board meeting will be a joint meeting
and also subsequent meetings after that.
Motion approved that they have joint Health Board / Public Health Advisory Board (PHAB) meetings going forward
for Health Board meetings.
Adiournent
The meeting adjourned at 11:27 a.m.
The County Couaczl, approved these minutes on May 23, 2023.
a ti WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL
WHATCOM COUNTY, WA
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Dada Brdw#16a*Rouncil Clerk B ry uchanan, Health Board Chair
Kristi Felbinger, Minutes Transcription
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