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Home My WebLink AboutHealth Board-PHAB Oct 3 2023Whatcom County Council as the Health Board COUNTY COURTHOUSE 311 Grand Avenue, Ste #105 Bellingham, WA 98225-4038 (360) 778-5010 Minutes - Final Tuesday, October 3, 2023 10 AM Civic Center Building Conference Room / Hybrid Meeting JOINT HEALTH BOARD/PUBLIC HEALTH ADVISORY BOARD MEETING - HYBRID MEETING (PARTICIPATE IN -PERSON, SEE REMOTE JOIN 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 October 3, 2023 Call To Order Health Board Chair Barry Buchanan called the meeting to order at 10:03 a.m. in a hybrid meeting. Roll Call Present: 6 - Barry Buchanan, Tyler Byrd, Todd Donovan, Carol Frazey, Kaylee Galloway, and Kathy Kershner Absent: 1 - Ben Elenbaas Public Health Advisory Board members present were: Adrienne Renz Ashley Thomasson Kathy Kershner, Health Board ex officio Chris Kobdish Emily O'Connor Greg Thompson, Health Officer ex officio Guy Occhiogrosso Lindsey Karas R. Michael Massanari Madison Emry Robyn Phillips-Madson Steve Bennett Sterling Chick Shu-Ling Zhao Teri Bryant Vesla Tonnessen Announcements Meeting Materials A132023-490 Meeting Materials for the Health Board October 3, 2023 The following agenda items were discussed: Public comment The following people spoke: • Natalie Chavez • Misty Flowers • Name not stated Whntcom County Page I Printed on 1012MO23 Council as the Health Board Minutes - Final October 3, 2023 Hearing no one else, Buchanan closed the public comment period. Public Health Advisory Board WHAB) update Steve Bennett, Public Health Advisory Board (PHAB), stated the PHAB has been working with other boards, reviewing the Behavioral Health Funds, continuing discussions with the opioid task force about local and State planning and responses for the opioid crisis, discussing legislative priorities, and looking at the budget for the Health Department. Health Officer/Health Director update Greg Thompson, Co -Health Officer, and Erika Lautenbach, Health and Community Services Director, read from a presentation (on file) about: • Respiratory Masking Guidance for Healthcare settings • Overdose death data • Updates on the Multi Agency Coordinating (MAC) Group Thompson presented on respiratory masking guidance and answered whether behavioral health would be included in the guidance for universal masking in "patient care areas," what is meant by non -patient -care areas, why health care authorities do not make their own assessment and determination on whether they will implement masking policies in their own facilities, whether we have evidence that wearing a mask protects the mask -wearer from airborne transmission of viruses, whether representatives from long-term care were included, and whether the guidance will be shared with long-term care institutions. Thompson presented on Whatcom overdose -related death data and he and Lautenbach answered why the numbers in August were lower than before, and whether there is any coordination with our law enforcement agencies to track different batches of drugs or dealers to see what causes particular spikes in deaths. They stated that it is after the loss of a supplier or after transitions or disruptions in a person's life that they see more overdoses. Lautenbach presented on the Multi -Agency Coordination (MAC) Group and its efforts to address system failures. Emily O'Connor spoke about how the efforts of All Hands Whatcom interact with and complement the MAC group. The following people answered questions: • Erika Lautenbach, Health and Community Services Director Whatcom County Page 2 Printed on 1012512023 Council as the Health Board Minutes - Final October 3, 2023 • Malora Christensen, Response Systems Division manager • Caleb Erickson, Sheriffs Office • Greg Thompson, Co -Health Officer They answered how long it takes for people who are on medically assisted treatment in jail to get that same treatment once they leave the jail, how many day's-worth of prescriptions people are given when they are released from jail and how to do better with that, whether there is a warm hand-off system if someone is not enrolled in a program (like LEAD or GRACE) when they are released, whether a lot of people are being released on short notice making it difficult for the re-entry and behavioral health teams to help, and whether we have a list of federal laws about jail release and why those laws are in place. Whatcom Resource Information Collaborative The following people presented on the Whatcom Resource Information Collaborative: Kristi Slette, Whatcom Resource Information Collaborative (WRIC) and executive director of the Whatcom Family Community Network Debbie Paton, Whatcom Resource Information Collaborative data steward and community services director at Opportunity Council Slette stated the presentation is to inform the group that this effort is at a point where they have demonstrated their pilot goals and are seeking monetary investment and guidance on how best to work with the County to access needed funds. She showed a video and spoke about three main elements: • The Whatcom Resource Information Collaborative • The Public Utility Database • The website whatcomresources.org The presenters spoke about the need for both philanthropic and governmental funding support to be able to keep moving forward and to prioritize more populations and data sets. Ann Beck, Health and Community Services, answered whether the funds through the Opportunity Council and Health and Community Services are running out, and whether a request for funding will be included in the mid -biennium budget review. She stated a request has not been made through the budget process. 91Wcom County Page 3 Printed on 1012512023 Council as the Health Board Minutes - Final October 3, 2023 Work Plan for 2024 Other Business Bennett asked what the communication and marketing plan is for the WRIC. Slette spoke about marketing and communication and stated their priority is to fund a data steward at the Opportunity Council who can continue to keep the data up to date. Erika Lautenbach, Health and Community Services Director, referred to the 2024 work plan ideas (in the packet) and asked what topics should be discussed as a Health Board with the Public Health Advisory Board (PHAB) versus what should be discussed in the Public Works and Health Committee or Committee of the Whole since the Health Board only meets four times a year. The group discussed having continued conversations about the completed items on the work plan (highlighted in yellow), whether there should be a regularly scheduled Health Director report in Council committee, whether the Health Board and PHAB should meet longer or more often, what types of items should be discussed in Council committees and what should be discussed in this body, the feeling that there is maybe not an effective forum to provide the level of information about work that is being done on health initiatives, the PHAB not having the opportunity for interactive discussion, implementing best practices and the State -required roles of the PHAB in a procedural way and finding out what other Health Boards are doing, having some action -oriented meetings which are exclusive to working through a task at hand as opposed to just getting updates, whether other departments should be brought into discussions and in which meeting body that should be done, getting clarity on how the Health Board and PHAB interact and on the advisory function of the PHAB to the Health Board, finding a way to facilitate the PHAB getting communications and plans from other groups "on the ground" and giving feedback on those, then going to the Health Board for more feedback and decision -making processes, what level of detail the Health Board needs to be able to make decisions and how involved the Health Board wants to be in decision -making versus deferring to the PHAB, having a clear work plan, having further individual follow-up with Director Lautenbach on what role and level of involvement the Health Board members would like to have, and using the Council's Public Works and Health Committee to further discuss that. There was no other business. Adjournment ffleatcom County Page 4 Printed on 1012512023 Council as the Health Board Minutes - Final October 3, 2023 The meeting adjourned at 11:49 a.m. The County Council approved these minutes on October 24, 2023. ATTES` ' a " a / r � WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL COM COUNTY WA Dana Bfowp-Dav'is;jugeil C16A Bar Bu anan, Health Board Chair Kristi Felbinger, Minutes Transcnption Whatcom County Page 5 Printed on 10/2P2023