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WC CWF Health District Board Minutes - 04/23/2010WICHITA FALLS - WICHITA COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH BOARD MINUTES April 23, 2010 Wichita Falls - Wichita County Public Health District 1700 Third Street - Parker Conference Room Wichita Falls, Texas MEMBERS PRESENT: Board Members Richard Sutton, M.D., Chair Bryan Press, Vice Chair David Carlston, Ph. D. Clay Clark, D.V.M. Tracy Hill, D.D.S. Lauren Jansen, R.N.C. MEMBERS ABSENCE EXCUSED: Robin Moreno, M.T., Secretary Lou Franklin, R.N., B.S.N. Director of Health Not Present Health Authority Kevin Hugman Assistant City Manager Dorothy Roberts -Burns Council Liaison Ray Gonzalez County Commissioner I. CALL TO ORDER S INTRODUCTIONS Chair Dr. Sutton called the Board of Health meeting to order at 12:15 pm after a quorum of members was attained. II. APPROVAL OF FEBRUARY 2010 MEETING MINUTES AND ABSENCES Dr. Sutton called for the review and approval of minutes from the last meeting held on February 26, 2010. Dr. Carlston introduced a motion to approve the minutes as presented and Dr. Hill seconded the motion. Motion passed unanimously. At this time it was noted the excused absence of Robin Moreno. III. HEALTH FAIR REVIEW Ms. Franklin presented a review of the fourth annual Health Fair held the second weekend of April in conjunction with National Public Health Week theme Healthy America One Community at a Time. Every program within the Health District was highlighted, and the entire building was open with over 40 partner agencies participation. RECEI'v'�. - C! - �,..p Datc By _ - W. mime _ IO 1 1 The estimated attendance of 200 was down from the 400 last year. A tentative date of April 2 is set for next year, but dates will be reviewed for better attendance since other community activities was believed to contribute to the drop in attendance. Representatives of the County Emergency Preparedness, TB elimination, Dental care, Region 9, YMCA, and the community outreach Angel Food Ministries low cost food program provided information. The Police department offered free VIN etching and Texas Department of Transportation (TX DOT) demonstrated their Buckle -Up rollover. Children's care safety seats were inspected and provided new ones at no charge. Fire Fighters brought out their new fire ladder truck and smoke house. The Emergency Managements command post van, an AMR ambulance, and the AirVac helicopter came out.. The Kennel Club ran dogs through an agility course, P.E.T.S. did micro - chipping, and Lone Star 102.3 had a live remote. IV. OVERVIEW OF THE LABORATORY AND WATER POLLUTION DIVISION Jo Harp, Laboratory/Water Pollution Administrator, provided a brief overview of laboratory functions performed at the Health Department. The Laboratory is Medicare /Medicaid certified and possesses a Clinical Laboratory Improvement Act (CLIA) License. In addition the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) certifies the Laboratory for Water Bacteriology testing under Public Law 93 -523 the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act accredited under the standards of the National Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program (NELAP). National Standards implemented last year require accreditation and certification to perform full water testing. The Laboratory and Water Pollution Division consists of six employees: the Administrator, part time Senior Administrative Clerk, Senior Medical Lab Technologist, Medical Lab Technician, Water Pollution Control Specialist, and Public Health Officer. The Water Pollution Specialist is a chemist to assure all test results are within EPA and TCEQ standards. The Public Health Officer assists the Specialist with investigations of sewage complaints and industrial surveys of Wichita Falls businesses is done every two years to review their process. The Laboratory Division provides clinical support to the Nursing Division which includes Urinalysis, Serology, and Microbiology. The Urinalysis Section performed tests on 322 samples last year which test for infections, abnormal renal functions, and pregnancy. The Serology Section performs testing on over 2,336 samples a year. This includes a screen for syphilis with confirmation testing performed on those that test positive. All positives are reported to Dallas and tests are done on stat basis for the client to receive same day treatment for those who may not return for treatment. Ms. Franklin stated that in the first month of the calendar year, an increase in syphilis cases (9) was noted. The disease rate has slowed since then, but staff continues to monitor for trends. Disease intervention is done through contract with Dallas County but the Division works closely with them to assure the contacts come in for treatment. On every STD client seen, blood is drawn for HIV and syphilis testing. The Microbiology Section performs tests on approximately 2,200 specimens per year. On males, a smear and culture is done and females a smear, culture, and wet mount are taken. Environmental is provided support by performing testing for food borne illness, environmental sampling, and rabies specimens. Testing is performed on food samples brought in on complaints for bacteria E. coli and salmonella. Last year the Lab tested over 339 samples; based on the outcome of the tests, staff from the Environmental Division work to determine the source of the agent. Ms. Franklin remarked when we get a report of a food borne illness where they have seen a doctor with a positive lab result then that initiates the teamwork of Environmental, Nursing, and the Lab. Nursing will 2 contact the patient to do an extensive food history of what the person ate, when they ate it and the prior meal. The information goes to Environmental so they know what to look for when they investigate the restaurant. The timeline is important because it is not food poison getting sick 30 minutes after food consumption usually something that did not agree with you since not enough time has elapsed. Environmental will choose a motel /hotel to randomly select a room to swab everything from the phone, cup, bath tub, sink then the Lab tests for Staphylococcus aureus to check the cleanliness of the room. Testing was done on 180 samples. The Lab ships out rabies samples from the Animal Control Division and local Veterinarians. Last year out of the 90 samples shipped, 22 skunks tested positive. To date, out of the 24 samples shipped, 4 skunks and 1 horse tested positive with two exposures to the horse the rabies vaccine series was administered. Ms. Franklin advised that the Health District is the Rabies Depot for the surrounding counties. If an exposure occurs rabies vaccine can be obtained at the Health Department. Water Pollution Prevention does water bacteriology testing for 15 surrounding counties; the cities bring in water samples to have tested for chloroform or E. coli. Local lakes, rivers, streams and recreational water bodies are monitored for pollution or contamination. Also, staff respond and investigate public complaints and concerns. Last year the Lab performed testing on 3,785 samples that included city water samples, individual water samples, source water testing, and effluents from waste water treatment plants. Industrial Pretreatment staff perform the following tasks: inspects and permits Industrial users; monitors waste hauling, waste disposal and waste pumping trucks; monitor Lift Stations; and enforces Grease Trap Ordinances. Inspections are performed on all industries within the city limits that discharge amounts of pollutants that may affect the waste water treatment plants in Wichita Falls. To date, ten industries are monitored and required to do quarterly testing as well as semi - annual questionnaires. An annual report is submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). Over 266 tests were generated from over 199 samples taken last year. Increases in testing and shipping cost initiated a recent fee increase to help absorb some of the programs cost. Ms. Franklin stated the previous cost of a permit was $100 to $300 which went up to $3000 to $4000. The huge increase did not make the industries happy but they understood since the program began, a fee increase had never been instituted. A permit fee structure was implemented for the fee to be in conjunction with the cost of testing. The annual permit simply covers the testing it does not include the employee's time spent on inspections, questionnaires, to retrieve and monitor samples. Another responsibility is inspection of vacuum trucks that pick up various forms of waste within the city. Currently 18 trucks are permitted and inspected some are from Oklahoma City and Dallas that must meet the same requirements for pick up within Wichita Falls. Approximately 360 grease trap inspections are performed annually. The Grease Trap Program monitors the installation, maintenance, and proper working order of any facility that prepares foods that generate grease. Restaurants are required to have a grease trap underneath the sink or outside the facility to capture grease that prevents pipeline stoppage and the City from being fined several million dollars. Ms. Franklin added the Grease Trap Ordinance was established 6 years ago out of a need to better control the amount of grease entering the Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTW) and the related number of sewage stop up's and overflows. It has been an effective program. Last year the revenue generated in the Lab/Water Pollution Division is as follows; grease traps $13,000, vacuum trucks $15 per truck, permit fees $3,000, water testing $27,000, $30 shipping cost per rabies sample to Austin, and miscellaneous fines on industries surcharges on heavy water usage generated $8,200. 3 V. ANIMAL SERVICES CENTER UPDATE Ms. Franklin announced that the Animal Services Center bids came in at approximately $300,000 less than what was received for the guaranteed maximum price. This enables the purchase of an Astro turf type surface in the Get -To -Know yard that will help with disease prevention and a generator in preparation of power outages. The construction manager -at -risk is in the process of finalizing the subcontractors contracts; once completed it will go to council for publication of the bid. There had been concern that a large number of the subcontracts would be awarded to out of town contractors since the City had hired an out of town architect and construction manager -at -risk. When bids were received and reviewed fifty -one percent of the dollars to be subcontracted will be awarded to local contractors. There were some items that received no local bids. The ground breaking should be within the next 30 days and the facility completion with occupancy should occur around February 2011. VI. NEXT MEETING DATE June 25, 2010 VII. ADJOURN Dr. Sutton requested a motion to adjourn. The motion was made by Dr. Clark and seconded by Lauren Jansen. 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 4