(These are FOPH notes, not authoritative minutes.) PH continues to do everything they can to mitigate the cuts to their funding from this federal administration (FA). FOPH appreciates the diligence and grace displayed by the employees at PH and at Jefferson Healthcare as they work to preserve vital healthcare programs in the face of profound cuts.

There are two action items:

1. If you participated in a past Community Health Assessment / Community Health Improvement Plan and have thoughts on the process, PH would like to hear from you via the form they have here: https://www.jeffersoncountypublichealth.org/1977/Community-Health-Improvement-CHI

2. If you have been involved in or following any of the work surrounding the impact of the encampment removals, the November 19 BoH meeting will discuss that. The meeting starts at 2:30 PM and you can attend in person at the courthouse (lower level commissioners conference room) or via zoom.

A special thanks to everyone who has worked this past year on behalf of Friends of Public Health. Despite all the budget cuts, none of the six clinics PH runs will have to close this fiscal year. We will soon be kicking off planning for the December 2026 Give the Gift of Healthcare effort, so please reach out if you want to be a part of it.

(As always, these are informal notes, not authoritative minutes.) Stand-by for more budget news later in the year, as PH is already starting to prepare their budget requests from the county and the state. Other meeting topics include updates to Environmental Health Fee Schedules and a planned October discussion on the impacts of the encampment sweeps)

(These are the informal notes taken by a Friend of Public Health, not authoritative minutes.) More cuts come to vital programs, this time a cut to the county’s funding for the mental health provider at the school-based health clinics. Micro grants are providing boosts to the county’s youth, longer-term funding solutions at the state and federal level are necessary to end the constant scramble for public health funding.

(These notes were taken by a Friend of Public Health and should not be confused with authoritative minutes.) Public Health jurisdictions do a lot with less because PH is the only one to do the work in this rural area, and the populations here have the least access to services. PH is facing a combination of flat, declining, and eliminated funding streams. The clinical and environmental services fill unmet needs. More residents are relying on PH for essential services: more seniors are homebound and require visiting services, more unhoused people require more mobile outreach, and there are increased behavioral health and substance abuse support. PH employees are trusted and known and have reach in places that other healthcare systems can’t.

In April PH did not have the bottom line because they were waiting to see exactly how the legislation would be implemented. PH statewide has taken a $21 million cut of FPHS funding. This was the base funding to make sure the capabilities were there for providing all the basic services and for being ready for disease tracking and prevention.

As I always say, these are my notes, not authoritative minutes. I am always open to corrections, and this week I have a correction to the JH Commissioner's meeting notes from March that relate to the discussion of the proposed JH levy lift.