Health Board To Hire Program Director, Create Advisory Board
August 15, 2023 at 9:08 p.m.
Kosciusko County Board of Health unanimously voted Tuesday to hire a full-time program director and appoint a four to six member advisory board to oversee the Health First Indiana funds.
It will also present a rough budget on how funds will be spent to the Indiana Department of Health.
The board held a special meeting Tuesday to discuss HFI and the need for an advisory board. Dr. William Remington Jr., health officer, stated the board needed to think through its priorities. He presented three areas where the $932,790 expected to be received through HFI should be spent.
The minimum the county could receive in 2024 is $932,790 with the maximum being $1,243,720. In 2025, that minimum will increase to $1,865,580 and the maximum to $2,487,440. There is a county match, which in 2024 will be the average of the county tax levy-related funds distributed to the health department in the preceding three years. In 2025, the minimum county match would be $391,170 and the maximum would be $521,560.
Approximately $93,279, or 10% of what is received each year, would be set aside for future capital expenditures. The remaining funds would be used for internal development: part-time salaries for a food service inspector; communicable disease assistant; tattoo, piercing and eyebrow inspector; and HFI coordinator or program director. Benefits, office supplies and communication and rent were also included in this area. The final area included $594,511 in external grants.
The county will be required to spend at least 60% of the funding in specific core services. These services include student health, communicable disease prevention and control, testing/counseling, referrals to clinical care, vital statistics, fatality review, TB control and case management, chronic disease prevention and reduction, trauma and injury prevention and education, tobacco prevention and cessation, maternal and child health, emergency preparedness, childhood lead screening and case management and child and adult immunization.
No more than 40% of the funding may be spent on core services as food protection, residential onsite sewage system permitting and inspections, sanitary inspection and surveys of public buildings, pest/vector control and abatement; orders for decontamination of property used to illegally manufacture controlled substance, sanitary operation of tattoo parlors and body piercing facilities, public/semipublic pool inspection and testing and sanitary operation of facilities where eyelash extensions are performed.
Rich Haddad, president and CEO of K21 Health Foundation, provided his thoughts, which the board appreciated, and ultimately will be using his ideas to formulate the budget. It was Haddad who strongly suggested the advisory board work with a full-time program director.
He also proposed choosing six "buckets" to fund. These included $75,000 for tobacco prevention/cessation; $100,000 toward maternal and child health; trauma and injury prevention; child and adult education; and beef up or contract out immunizations, possibly restarting the Wellness Clinics.
He also suggested $200,000 be used for student health, chronic disease prevention and another $50,000 for emergency preparedness, $20,000 for STI testing and $100,000 for communicable disease and lead screenings.
Haddad talked about the necessity of knowing the needs in the county, as well as what programs are already there that could be assisted with the funds received. His biggest point was the real necessity of a program director who would report to Bob Weaver, county health administrator.
Alex Hall, vice president of programming for Kosciusko County Community Foundation, echoed what Haddad had presented and suggested the advisory group consist of people who know the community.
The board also heard from Cary Groninger, county commissioner, who pointed out the commissioners were looking for the board of health to make decisions, however, contract documents needed to go before the commissioners for approval.
Tracey Akers, nurse coordinator for Warsaw Community Schools, voiced the need for a program director who knows programming availability, what is good for the county.
The board will meet at 5 p.m. Oct. 16 in the old courtroom.
Kosciusko County Board of Health unanimously voted Tuesday to hire a full-time program director and appoint a four to six member advisory board to oversee the Health First Indiana funds.
It will also present a rough budget on how funds will be spent to the Indiana Department of Health.
The board held a special meeting Tuesday to discuss HFI and the need for an advisory board. Dr. William Remington Jr., health officer, stated the board needed to think through its priorities. He presented three areas where the $932,790 expected to be received through HFI should be spent.
The minimum the county could receive in 2024 is $932,790 with the maximum being $1,243,720. In 2025, that minimum will increase to $1,865,580 and the maximum to $2,487,440. There is a county match, which in 2024 will be the average of the county tax levy-related funds distributed to the health department in the preceding three years. In 2025, the minimum county match would be $391,170 and the maximum would be $521,560.
Approximately $93,279, or 10% of what is received each year, would be set aside for future capital expenditures. The remaining funds would be used for internal development: part-time salaries for a food service inspector; communicable disease assistant; tattoo, piercing and eyebrow inspector; and HFI coordinator or program director. Benefits, office supplies and communication and rent were also included in this area. The final area included $594,511 in external grants.
The county will be required to spend at least 60% of the funding in specific core services. These services include student health, communicable disease prevention and control, testing/counseling, referrals to clinical care, vital statistics, fatality review, TB control and case management, chronic disease prevention and reduction, trauma and injury prevention and education, tobacco prevention and cessation, maternal and child health, emergency preparedness, childhood lead screening and case management and child and adult immunization.
No more than 40% of the funding may be spent on core services as food protection, residential onsite sewage system permitting and inspections, sanitary inspection and surveys of public buildings, pest/vector control and abatement; orders for decontamination of property used to illegally manufacture controlled substance, sanitary operation of tattoo parlors and body piercing facilities, public/semipublic pool inspection and testing and sanitary operation of facilities where eyelash extensions are performed.
Rich Haddad, president and CEO of K21 Health Foundation, provided his thoughts, which the board appreciated, and ultimately will be using his ideas to formulate the budget. It was Haddad who strongly suggested the advisory board work with a full-time program director.
He also proposed choosing six "buckets" to fund. These included $75,000 for tobacco prevention/cessation; $100,000 toward maternal and child health; trauma and injury prevention; child and adult education; and beef up or contract out immunizations, possibly restarting the Wellness Clinics.
He also suggested $200,000 be used for student health, chronic disease prevention and another $50,000 for emergency preparedness, $20,000 for STI testing and $100,000 for communicable disease and lead screenings.
Haddad talked about the necessity of knowing the needs in the county, as well as what programs are already there that could be assisted with the funds received. His biggest point was the real necessity of a program director who would report to Bob Weaver, county health administrator.
Alex Hall, vice president of programming for Kosciusko County Community Foundation, echoed what Haddad had presented and suggested the advisory group consist of people who know the community.
The board also heard from Cary Groninger, county commissioner, who pointed out the commissioners were looking for the board of health to make decisions, however, contract documents needed to go before the commissioners for approval.
Tracey Akers, nurse coordinator for Warsaw Community Schools, voiced the need for a program director who knows programming availability, what is good for the county.
The board will meet at 5 p.m. Oct. 16 in the old courtroom.