A PROPER SEND OFF John Waterston handed now retired Williams County Health Commissioner Jim Watkins a card detailing how the board made a donation to a school in Haiti in Watkinss name in honor of the 37 years he spent working in local public health
By: Anna Wozniak
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
anna@thevillagereporter.com
The Williams County Board of Health met on February 27, 2024 at 7 p.m. They began by welcoming the new Williams County Health Commissioner Oscar Hernandez, who shared that his first six days in the health department with Commissioner Jim Watkins as his teacher were very instructive.
Commissioner Watkins then shared a presentation, detailing the funding that a department in Indiana ($348,509.43 in state and $518,840 in matched funds from the county) versus the $21,000 provided to the department from Williams County for health services.
Conflicts of interest were then discussed, with it being shared that it isn’t abnormal for those on boards to experience connections with others in their communities.
The Ohio Ethics Commission requires members with conflicts of interest to abstain from voting on decisions or influencing conversation around matters where conflict of interest exists.
Those with a conflict of interest should refrain from voting, discussing, reviewing, recommending, inspecting, or investigating anything that is pertaining to that conflict.
He illuminated many issues that members may run into as they come together for the community, including difficult people, managing relationships, circumventing the official system, breaches in confidentiality, and dealing with members that have dominating personality traits.
He recommends that members be direct and prompt when addressing issues, and to keep in mind the rural location makes room for a lot of close working relationships.
Watkins then went on to detail how one voice is no more important than another, and that all members should feel as though they are given an equal opportunity to speak, and Watkins showed how this can be remedied through rules of engagement.
He detailed how it is the board’s responsibility to answer hard questions, and that they are not undergoing staff-like organization nor expected to complete staff functions.
Watkins shared that it is a good practice for the board to have a close working relationship with their health officers.
The 2024 performance measurements were then gone over, with it being shared that changes have been made to how employee satisfaction is monitored with the annual employee survey, one-on-one meetings, development institutes for leaders and staff, public health program presentations in the workforce development plan, and staff engagement events on a quarterly basis.
They have the goal to fill all job vacancies within a year for the health department to help measure the employee turnover, and many other strategic planning communication changes.
There is a goal for all annual accreditation to be done by April, with website statistics and quality improvement initiatives soon to begin.
They will continue to monitor the community health improvement plan, their social media impressions and how they have varied the last year, staff equity training twice a year, and maintain a six-month financial reserve with grants monitored through quarterly grants to ensure proper fund management.
The consent agenda was then approved, and the child fatality review then began. This report discussed a group that investigates the deaths of minors to determine what the cause of death was and determine whether or not the death could have been prevented.
After a decade of statistics, it was shared that there will always be statistics towards unpreventable health related deaths mostly affecting infants under a year, but that there have been 32 child deaths in the last decade, with 1 in 4 of those considered preventable.
Seven of these were related to sleep, typically due to infants sleeping on surfaces that are not firm or bare of hazards.
Discussions in this group focus on trauma, housing, education, and inadequate worker pay that seem to most contribute to the preventable minor deaths.
It was then discussed whether the warranty discussed at the last meeting would be addressed again, with Commissioner Watkins sharing that it will be.
The motion to approve the consent agenda was then given, which included an intent to apply for a grant, completion of instructional period, a resignation, and an immunization write off.
A motion was then made to approve the payment of the bills. Then approved was Resolution 8.24, a contract for PHSCO emergency preparedness services, due to the resignation of the last member partnered with. This needs to be in place in order to be in grant compliance.
Then discussed was Resolution 9.24, which related to the warranty on the new recycling trailer, as well as details related to the purchase. As discussion ended, the resolution was approved.
Resolution 10.24, which allowed for the substitution of the health commissioner’s signature in the case that Oscar Hernandez is not present, was then approved, as was Resolution 11.24, which officially approved the 2024 performance measures.
Discussion was then opened on the ODPS grant, a program that helps with sustainable financing, with a document presented to members to answer any questions they may have on accounts, program costs, subsidies, and grants, with all costs representing fiscal year 2022.
The grant has decreased over the year, and costs are expected to increase. Some programs are mandated, but this program is optional.
The board was asked to rate the program on how closely they think this program aligns with the goals of the county, with the ratings being picked up and tallied.
Vital statistics were then updated, with it being reported that the state is currently moving away from their current system, with information expected to come in the next few weeks on the change.
This will allow for electronic burial and cremation permits, better protection on death certificate information, electronic death record certification, central payment processing, the change of certificates being able to be given throughout the state, and electronic registration of fetal deaths.
Conversation was then held with regard to an addition to a bill sent by the computer maintenance company that was almost double the approved quote.
The company agreed to rebate the increase in costs as the upcharge was not agreed upon. It was recommended that the board move to approve this contract, with an apology for the item not making the agenda. A motion was then made accepting the service contract as discussed.
The lead abatement program was then discussed, with it being reported that since the 2023 Lead Safe Ohio Program has started, funds have begun to be allocated.
Maumee Valley Planning Organization is managing the funds for Williams County, with work being done on residences in lower-income communities.
There has been a problem getting contractors to sign up for the program since they last met in October, with little local interest shown.
The contractors are needed so that they can be trained and certified to complete the program’s work, with the funds having to be appropriated this year.
The next Williams County Board of Health meeting was then scheduled for March 26, 2024 at 7 p.m. at the East Annex on High Street in Bryan, with an environmental committee meeting taking place a half an hour beforehand.
Then, the attention was turned to Commissioner Jim Watkins, as this was the last meeting of his 17-year tenure as health commissioner and 37 years with local public health.
The meeting then adjourned at 8:25 p.m.
