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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-11-1996 Board of Health MinutesBOARD OF HEALTH MEETING APRIL 11, 1996 The regularly scheduled meeting of the Board of Directors of the Plainview -Hale County Health Department was in ses- sion at approximately 12:30 P.M. at Plainview Country Club, Thursday, April 11, 1996. Those attending were: John Castro, Cezar Cervantez,R.N., Dr. Janet Cruz, Margaret Kay, John Peck, Don Dickson, Dr. Michael Hinze, Nina Morris, Benny Cantwell,, Dr. Kit Lin- ton, City Attorney Wally Hatch, City Manager Jim Jeffers, and Mayor Lloyd C. Woods. Also present were a'guest, Bob Tilson, and the secretary, Billie Standefer. In the absence of Board Chairman Dr. Linton at the beg- inning of the meeting, Mr. Castro recognized Mr. Bob Tilson as he presented him with a plaque honoring Mrs. Tilson, posthumously, for her devotion and dedicated service as a member of the Health Board for many years. Mr. Castro explained a similar plaque would be placed in the Health Department facility in memory of Mrs. Tilson. Mr. Tilson accepted the plaque, saying "Dorothy" be- lieved the Health Board was "very important", and had loved all its members. Since the Board Chairman had still not arrived, Mr. Castro moved the meeting forward with the nomination and selection of a Vice Chairman for the Board. Mayor Woods acknowledged he had on "voting" privileges, but recommended Don Dickson as a nominee. Mr. Peck made a motion to appoint Mr. Dickson as Vice Chairman; with a second to this motion by Dr. Janet Cruz, the Board voted Mr. Dickson the Vice Chairman. At this point, Vice Chairman Dickson took charge of the meeting, asking for Mr. Castro's report. Mr. Castro began his report by introducing Cezar Cervan- tez, R.N., as the new Director of Nurses for the depart- ment and asking Mr. Cervantez to give the report on Communicable Diseases. Mr. Cervantez cited current, most reported diseases as: Gastroenteritis, Bronchitis, Strep, Viral Syndrome, Pneumonia, Scarlet Fever and Chicken Pox. Mr. Cervantez stated he hoped to work with the Board and the community for the betterment of both, and would work to be exemplary in every effort. Mr. Castro then continued his report by giving an over- view of his TPHA (Texas Public Health Association) Con- ference He explained the Conference had examined the future of Public Health, looked at Managed Care and. compared HMO/ Managed Care services as to Health Department services. He stated it was uncertain how future changes would effect the Immunization Program, but said, as of Sept- ember 1, 1996, Medicaid would have assigned Primary Health Care Providers, and this would cause Medicaid recipients to use these providers. He stated further he doubted Managed Care would handle core services such as Tuberculosis, Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Public Health Promotion, HIV Testing, Epidime- ology and Environmental Health, and stated a meeting in Dallas in May would continue to look into these changes, but it had already been agreed that Health Departments and Primary Care Providers would need to cooperate. Mr. Castro explained a Dr. Ron Warner from Texas Tech had contacted him with a proposal to develop, with Grant • Funds, a cooperative arrangement with Public. Health Providers in urban neighborhoods, small cities and rur- al settings. This proposal would establish a base- line promotion to put Prevention into practice. Mr. Castro said he would keep the Board informed as to this proposal. In other Department information, Mr. Castro shared: (1) He had received a resignation from a Staff L.V.N. (2) Would hire another L.V.N. as Staff replacement. (3) He was sending Traci Bigham, L.V.N.,•to Dallas to attend a two week training session for HIV/ STD, explaining Texas Department of Health, in Austin, would_ reimburse the Department one-half the cost of the training (4) He planned to send Cezar Cervantez, R.N., to the next seminar for this training. Vice Chairman Dickson asked for recommendations for a nominee for a City/County Board Member to replace Dr. Tony Loggins, who had resigned. When there was no response, the Vice Chairman placed the name of Cindy Ebeling (Registered Dietitian) for consideration as a nominee. (This was in the form of a motion.) With a second to this motion by Mr. Peck, the Board voted to present the name of Cindy Ebeling to the County Commissioners and City Councilfor con- sideration as a Board member to represent the City/ County. The Board Chairman, Dr. Kit Linton, joined the meet- ing at this time,and the Vice Chairman turned the meeting to her. The Chairman asked Mr. Castro to address the Smoking Ordinance proposal. Mr. Castro stated he had received ordinances from San Antonio, Plano, Lubbock, Corpus Christi and Amarillo, had looked at these and wanted the Board to express its thoughts about how to present the proposal of this endeavor. A lengthy discussion followed. Mr. Jeffers told Board members to consider this ordinance would be a challenge in that it presented Public Health VS individual rights. Mayor Woods suggested a Public Hearing to let the people vote. Mr. Jeffers urged the Board to give the people an opportunityt9Ohat the Board had in mind before it proceeded with°any plan. Chairman Linton stated her concerns that this be a County wide effort; not just for the people of Plain- view. Margaret Kay said, as a Health Board, members had a responsibility to make any and all improvements for the betterment of Public Health. Mr. Peck suggested the Board invite the Mayors of Hale Center, Petersburg and Abernathy to a meeting to review and discuss smoking ordinance proposals. Dr. Janet Cruz stated having ordinance proposals outlined to present to interested parties at a meeting/ worksession would be very helpful. Cezar Cervantez, R.N., expressed the need of the smoking ordinance proposal in regard to minors, saying as Public Health advocates, the health of minors should be a major factor for the Department to work toward this goal. Benny Cantwell stated every individual's input would be - valued. Mr. Castro suggested sending draft ordinances to Board members and Mayors to explain the plans for the ordinance. The Mayors could contact interested parties in .their cities for input and present these ideas in a special meeting. (Having more than one example for the ordinance.) Chairman Linton expressed a desire to have this done as soon as possible rather than let the plan and its interest lag. A motion, made and seconded to, follow Mr. Castro's plan, received a full vote of approval In a last order of business, the Minutes of the last meeting and Expenditures were approved, and excused absences were allowed for Dr. Stephen Turner, Donna Womble and Barbara Dorman. A special meeting date was set to review and discuss smoking ordinances for Thursday, May 16, 1996 at Plain- view Country Club. The meeting was adjourned. Billie Standefer Secretary