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WC CWF Health District Board Minutes - 06/25/2010WICHITA FALLS - WICHITA COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH BOARD MINUTES June 25, 2010 Wichita Falls - Wichita County Public Health District MEMBERS ABSENCE EXCUSED: David Carlston, Ph.D. Tracy Hill, D.D.S. Lauren Jansen, R.N.C. Lou Franklin, R.N., B.S.N. Director of Health Ahmed Mattar, M.D. Health Authority Kevin Hugman Assistant City Manager Not Present Council Liaison Woodrow "Woody" Gossom -- - -_ County Judge Ray Gonzalez _ _ _ -- County Commissioner I. CALL TO ORDER & INTRODUCTIONS Chair Dr. Sutton called the Board of Health meeting to order at 12:15 pm after a quorum of members was attained. 11. APPROVAL OF APRIL 2010 MEETING MINUTES AND ABSENCES Dr. Sutton called for the review and approval of minutes from the last meeting held on April 23, 2010. Bryan Press introduced a motion to approve the minutes as presented and Dr. Clark seconded the motion. Motion passed unanimously. At this time it was noted the excused absence of Dr. Carlston, Dr. Hill, and Lauren Jansen. III. ANIMAL SERVICES CENTER UPDATE Ms. Franklin stated an Animal Services Center coordination meeting is held every Friday and everything has progressed well. The pad is laid; the exterior is to be chosen next week then the interior. Completion is still slated for the end of January to the first of February. 1700 Third Street - Parker Conference Room Wichita Falls, Texas MEMBERS PRESENT: Board Members Richard Sutton, M.D., Chair Bryan Press, Vice Chair Robin Moreno, M.T., Secretary Clay Clark, D.V.M. MEMBERS ABSENCE EXCUSED: David Carlston, Ph.D. Tracy Hill, D.D.S. Lauren Jansen, R.N.C. Lou Franklin, R.N., B.S.N. Director of Health Ahmed Mattar, M.D. Health Authority Kevin Hugman Assistant City Manager Not Present Council Liaison Woodrow "Woody" Gossom -- - -_ County Judge Ray Gonzalez _ _ _ -- County Commissioner I. CALL TO ORDER & INTRODUCTIONS Chair Dr. Sutton called the Board of Health meeting to order at 12:15 pm after a quorum of members was attained. 11. APPROVAL OF APRIL 2010 MEETING MINUTES AND ABSENCES Dr. Sutton called for the review and approval of minutes from the last meeting held on April 23, 2010. Bryan Press introduced a motion to approve the minutes as presented and Dr. Clark seconded the motion. Motion passed unanimously. At this time it was noted the excused absence of Dr. Carlston, Dr. Hill, and Lauren Jansen. III. ANIMAL SERVICES CENTER UPDATE Ms. Franklin stated an Animal Services Center coordination meeting is held every Friday and everything has progressed well. The pad is laid; the exterior is to be chosen next week then the interior. Completion is still slated for the end of January to the first of February. r N. VITAL RECORDS UPDATE A Vital Records update was presented by Misty Koru the City Registrar for five years and Supervisor of the Assistant City Registrar, Medicaid /Medicare Billing Clerk, and front desk Administrative Clerk. The Vital Records office issues certified copies of birth records for all Texas counties and death records only for deaths within the Wichita Falls city limits. A Birth Certificate cost is $23 per each copy and a Death Certificate is $21 plus $4 per each additional copy at time of each request. To obtain records, an individual must be a qualified applicant: immediate family by blood or marriage, legal guardian, family's legal representative, organizations, governmental agencies or anyone that can prove tangible interest. Same day service while you wait is provided to individuals that come in to fill out an application and provide the proper documentation: valid driver's license or two legal documents with their name and signature. Out of town individuals can go to the City's Vital Statistics website, download an application then either mail or fax along with valid identification and credit card information that can normally be processed the date of receipt. The same requirements apply to obtain either a Birth or Death Certificate. Individuals born in Wichita Falls receive a full sheet Birth Certificate that lists detailed information as to the hospital, delivery doctor, time, parent's birth date and state. Those outside the City are issued a half sheet from the Austin remote site that lists basic information as to the county the child was born in, parent's name and date filed. The half sheet is acceptable in most incidences such as a Drivers License, Social Security, whereas the full sheet is required to obtain a Passport. In January 2006, the Texas Department of State Health Services started the Texas Electronic Registrar (TER) system where all Birth Certificates are electronically downloaded. The hospital enters the birth into the system that is transmitted to Austin then to the Vital Records office for a profile number that enables the electronic download of the certificate. As of September 2008, the State of Texas required all funeral homes and medical certifiers to use the Texas Electronic Death Registration system to file Death Certificates. The majority of Wichita Falls doctors are on the TER system which enables the electronic download of Death Certificates. The funeral home does the death entry that transmits to the Doctor for information input and electronic signature that is forwarded to Austin then Vital Records for a profile number that enables the electronic download. To date 61.97% Death Certificates are filed electronically as compared to 44.18% in 2009. Burial transit permits are issued to funeral homes when a body is taken for cremation or burial in another city or state. There were 2,273 birth records filed and 7,503 certificates issued in 2009. The records to date indicate 977 have been filed and 4,523 issued. There were 1,379 death records filed and 8,737 certificates issued in 2009. The records to date indicate 657 have been filed and 4,822 issued. Birth records are not public record for 75 years and death records not for 25 years. In office Vital Records date back to 1917 prior date records should be on file at the County office if not a State request can be made. On home births within Wichita County, the midwife files the Birth Certificate unless not intended to be a home birth or in route to the hospital. The City Registrar issues the Birth Certificate with proper documentation: proof of pregnancy, address, ambulance medical records to ensure the mother actually gave birth. The County is responsible for those outside Wichita County. Assistance is offered to individuals doing genealogy research, but it is difficult with unknown dates since the records are date generated. Another service is to help customers prepare the paperwork for amendments to Birth or Death Certificates. An amendment is used to correct the spelling of a name, gender, or date of birth or death, a name change can be done only with a court order. A Medical Amendment is done when the doctor is changing the cause, manner, or time of death. The Death Certificate Amendment is filed here then sent to Austin with the amendment listed at the bottom of the original certificate. 2 An application based on parentage can be done when certain requirements are met. An Acknowledgement of Paternity can be done when the mother and father are not married and the mother had not been married 300 days prior to the baby's birth. This adds the father to the Birth Certificate. It is a voluntary document that both parents sign but once faxed into the Vital Statistics office is a legal binding contract of paternity. The Vital Records vault was recently updated with a new shelving system making additional room for future records. Imaging records has been done for the last five years. They are scanned into the system that enables them to be printed from the computer onto certified paper instead of having to locate, pull and handle the worn paper copy. Plans are in place to upgrade the scanning system. V. NEXT MEETING DATE August 27, 2010 VI. ADJOURN Dr. Sutton requested a motion to adjourn. The motion was made by Dr. Clark and seconded by Robin Moreno. The motion carried and the meeting was adjourned at 1:00 p.m. Richard Sutton, M.D., Chair, Bryan Press, Vice Chair, or Robin Moreno, M.T., Secretary Public Health Board 3