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Home My WebLink About12-2021 December 7 PHAB minutes Deschutes County Health Services Public Health Advisory Board (PHAB) MINUTES MINUTES December 7, 2021 12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. via Zoom videoconferencing Facilitator Keith Winsor, Chair Staff Coordinator Tom Kuhn, Community Health Manager Scribe Kelley Ward Next Meeting January 4, 2022 (or TBD) Topic and Lead Introductions and Approval of October and November Meeting Minutes Tanya motioned, Dr. Ross seconded, and all board members voted to approve the October meeting minutes. Dr. Ross motioned, Steve seconded, and all board members voted to approve the November meeting minutes. Announcements and Unfinished Business - Tanya shared that she will be leaving her role with PacificSource as she accepted a job with Health Share of Oregon. - Dr. Ross shared that the board has approved a new Central Oregon residency program with OHSU partnership to potentially bring in 130-140 residents. The plan is to turn St. Charles into a mini academic center with the first residency coming before 2025. There are many studies that show how residency programs improve staff morale, continuity of care, etc. th - Since the next meeting scheduled on January 4, 2022 is right after New Year’s, should we reschedule, cancel or continue as planned? Historically, this group meets 10x a year and normally combines November and December meetings but this year those meetings were separate. Tom will send out a survey to collect feedback. - Membership update- Allison Perry with Central Oregon Veteran’s Ranch has resigned from her membership with PHAB. The time commitment isn’t aligning with her schedule but she will try to find another person to represent their organization. - Tanya and Dave will assume their chair and vice chair roles effective January 1, 2022. “To promote and protect the health and safety of our community.” Updated 3/3/22 COVID Update- Nahad Sadr-Azodi, Public Health Director There have not been any confirmed cases of the new variant in Oregon as of yesterday. We have been seeing an average of 500-600 cases a week for the past few months and are seeing a drop is hospital admissions. Those who are admitted, are in vulnerable populations and/or have underlying medical issues. The 20-29 and 30-39 age groups appear to be the drivers of transmission right now. The 5-11 age group is now eligible for vaccination so we are hopeful that this will help lessen transmission. We are seeing 30-40% of breakthrough cases and those cases are in older age groups. Deschutes County is currently at 80.5% vaccination rate for 18+ while other surrounding counties are much lower in their vaccination rates making us more vulnerable. It’s surprising to see the percentages of breakthrough cases but it’s important to keep in mind that the original vaccines were based on the original variants. Given that there are now several variants, the effectiveness of the original vaccines drop a little bit. The goal of the vaccine was more so aimed at reducing severity of the illness and pressure on the hospital systems opposed to reducing transmission. We should be seeing data from the CDC soon around boosters elevating population immunity. Nahad is available for any questions. Final Meeting for Keith Winsor & Rebeckah Berry - Keith Winsor has served on PHAB for 10+ years so he will be receiving a 10 years of service plaque from the commissioners. He is thankful to see that PHAB is more relevant and impactful now more than ever and has enjoyed seeing PHAB be proactive in supporting policy, group support and working more closely with the BOCC. - Rebeckah Berry has spent the past 5 years with PHAB and 3 yrs in the vice chair role. COCC ARPA Application Update- Sarah Baron, Assistant Professor, COCC There has been a group meeting and reviewing the application for ARPA funds for developing a program for entry level workforce support. Looking for PHAB support in this initiative as there is a general lack of awareness around public health. The goal of this project is to increase knowledge of public health careers, increase recruitment and local certification trainings. The trainings will be specific to Central Oregon and tie into the existing educational programs. We are looking at Medicaid bill back reimbursements and closing the loops there with more generated funds. We will be tapping in to existing partnerships with PacificSource, East Cascade Works and Oregon Health Authority. The objectives are to raise public awareness and training opportunities for PH employment in Deschutes County; increase availability of trained PH workers locally to fill COVID-19 response needs; integrate community health workers and peer support specialists into existing and new pandemic relief initiatives such as COVID-19 vaccination efforts, mental health and affordable housing programs; and increase knowledge on how to use Medicaid to support long-term community health programs. Part of the funding will expand the role of an existing part-time COCC Health Careers Navigator position to recruit, promote and onboard students for PH careers and degrees. The funding will also provide additional local trainings for peer support specialists, partnerships with local public partners to provide trainings, provide scholarships and paid internships for students, and create an advisory group to determine what the local PH workforce needs are. The preliminary budget is coming in around $383-390k with COHC income cash match at 50% of that so the ask from the county would be the other half of that amount. The hiring challenges the county is experiencing and the strategies/solutions to make those situations better could be compelling for the commissioners. Public Health Modernization Grant Update- Tom Kuhn, Community Health Manager, DCHS. Modernization efforts started in 2017 with the goal to expect the same PH protections “To promote and protect the health and safety of our community.” Updated 3/3/22 whether you are in the city or a rural area. The required goals are to protect communities from acute and communicable diseases; strengthen communicable disease, environmental health and emergency preparedness; protect communities from environmental health threats; and full implementation of PH modernization by 2025. Some of the environmental health threats include drought, wild fires, wells running dry, etc. There are some foundational capabilities to address and a need for basic infrastructure to deliver on the deliverables. The deliverables include: Regional All-Hazards Preparedness plan, Regional Environmental Hazards adaptation plan, Regional Health Equity Assessment and Plan, must demonstrate addressing Foundational Capabilities and must address required goals. There is a roadmap that helps outline any action items. The majority of the approx. $2.1M funding will be going to regional programs. For local funding, $707,345 is being requested for Quality Improvement, Emergency Preparedness Coordinator 0.2 FTE, Vulnerable Pop Outbreak Response Prevention (new position), Clinical Information Systems Administrator (new position) and other material, services and indirect costs. For regional funding, $990,227 is being requested for an Epidemiologist, Long Term Care Facilities Infection Prevention, Congregate Settings Infection Prevention, Environmental Hazards Preparedness Coordinator and other material, services and indirect costs. Lastly, for workforce funding, $375,780 is being requested for 18-month, one-time funding, Public Information Officer and Admin Support Specialist. Feel free to reach out to Tom with any questions. Adjourn 1:29pm Action Items:  Tom will send out a survey regarding the January 4th meeting Board Members Present: Commissioner Phil Chang, Dr. Robert Ross, David Huntley, Keith Winsor, Rebeckah Berry, Sharity Ludwig, Steve Strang, Tanya Nason Staff Members Present: Tom Kuhn, Nahad Sadr-Azodi, Kelley Ward Guest Presenter: Sarah Baron Guests: Colleen Sinsky, Renee Wirth BOCC – Board of County Commissioners COVID-19 – Coronavirus Disease of 2019 PHAB – Public Health Advisory Board PH- Public Health DCHS- Deschutes County Health Services “To promote and protect the health and safety of our community.” Updated 3/3/22