(PHOTO BY BRIANNA BALOGH / THE VILLAGE REPORTER)
MEETING WITH THE MAYORS … Health Commissioner Oscar Hernandez provides assessment and immunization information.
By: Brianna Balogh
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
publisher@thevillagereporter.com
The Williams County Mayors’ Association held their monthly meeting Wednesday February 19th. The meeting was called to order at 6:30.
Roll call was taken and in attendance were Mayors Bob Day – Edgerton, Carrie Schlade – Bryan, Don Leu – West Unity, Eric Jenkins – Blakeslee, Duane Thiel – Edon, Steve Yagleski – Montpelier, and Pamela Clark – Holiday City.
Also in attendance were Fiscal Officer Denise Knecht and County Engineer Todd Roth.
First order of business was to approve the minutes from the previous meeting held. Motioned by Mayor Thiel and approved by all.
The second item on the agenda was the financial update and approval presented by Denis Knecht. Approval of the bank statement, which included payment for $276 leaving the account balance at $7216.16, was motioned for approval by Mayor Yagelski and seconded by Mayor Schlade. The motion was approved by all.
With no old business, Mayor Day asked for any new business. Todd Roth made a brief statement encouraging attendees to contact his colleague, John Watterson.
By providing Mr. Watterson with business information and locations, he can submit that business to then be included in maps across most software services.
Following a short prayer, Mayor Day invited everyone up to enjoy the meal. Once everyone was seated and digging into their meal, Day introduced Oscar Hernandez, Williams County Health Department Commissioner, to speak.
Hernandez focused on the community health assessment and improvement plans. However, he started with information on a grant available to provide HVAC cleaning services to some of the most vulnerable populations, such as senior centers, schools, and long term care facilities. This grant provides $70,000 to each location to be used by the end of this calendar year.
Diving into the community health assessment, Hernandez explained the 3-year cycle where they are currently working with Defiance College and historically partnered with Parkview and Community Hospital and Wellness Centers.
They are preparing to start the youth and child survey. This will be the first year they will be working with children less than 12, where prior years they had worked with older children on their health concerns.
The health department will be looking for feedback from the mayors on specific health and community concerns. These surveys not only provide information but can also lead to grant qualifications for the community.
Switching gears to the community improvement plan, Hernandez informed that this is the final year of the plan.
He highlighted Todd Roth and his work with built environments especially the focus on green spaces and parks. He also highlighted the Village of Edgerton and their complete streets safety project.
Hernandez provided some general vaccination numbers for Williams County, Kindergarten being 87% 7th grade 90% and 12th grade 88%.
The goal is 95% and Hernandez stated they have begun to see an uptick in exemptions. Hernandez then provided an update on a new mapping system, policy maps, to help track lead-containing homes which are flagged when a child with high lead levels is reported to the health department. This process is just starting but should provide valuable information in the future.
Upcoming events include the health department working with Parkview to provide a community baby shower on April 5th.
ECHO, education communities on healthy opportunities, a drug free coalition for schools is working with law enforcement to assure retail establishments are properly checking IDs, made possible by a 2M2L grant. There will also be a drug take back day on April 1st.
Environmentally wise, the health department is working with the WPCLF, the water pollution control loan fund, to help residents replace or repair sewage systems.
Operation and maintenance will be looking to make a few changes to help make things more economical for the communities.
Hernandez also shared that it is currently licensing time for food service and retail which may cause a little extra stress to those businesses.
Hernandez finished by complementing the current nursing staff which has plans to increase partnership with business to provide immunizations on site.
The health department can bill insurance independently and does not charge common administrative fees that private companies charge.
Some businesses will also cover the remainder of that cost if insurance does not cover it. Hernandez highlighted several employees who have been promoted and are excelling.
Hernandez opened for questions in which there were several. Several questions focused on vaccinations, including a question regarding a recent measles outbreak happening in Texas and if that was a concern in this area.
Another question was if the rising vaccine exemption rate was a concern. Hernandez assured that most measles outbreaks are related to international travel and our immediate area is not a concern for outbreaks.
The current vaccination compliance rate is not at the ideal percentage but still provides adequate community protection.
When asked about the new Health and Human Services Secretary and the potential effect regarding immunizations, Hernandez explained that with any administration change it usually takes about a year to see any changes.
He explained the different vaccination programs provided by the health department. VFA and VFC programs are income-based vaccinations provided for adults and children by the government.
The private vaccination provided within business will still be available as those are private contracts between the health department and the pharmaceutical company.
Stemming from the vaccine topic, Roth inquired about offering a similar service for health screenings. This is not currently on the Health Departments radar, however Mayor Day stated there may be opportunities for this to be offered in the area in the future.
Mayor Schlade brought up the WIC Office, which will be moving to Union Street to better accommodate all WIC families.
This will allow extended hours and be more conveniently located outside of the courthouse building. There is no projected timeline for the move, but the health department will communicate those dates as soon as possible.
Before adjourning, Mayor Day encouraged attendees to take some of his homemade ginger cookies.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:00 with Mayor Yagelski motioning and seconded by Mayor Jenkins. The next meeting is scheduled to be held on March 19th at 6:30pm at Studio 34 in Edgerton.