8/25 Board of Health Meeting (More funding cuts)
These are informal notes taken by a Friend of Public Health at the Board of Health meeting, not authoritative minutes and not produced or reviewed by Public Health or the Board of Health.
Loss of Mental Health Funding for the SBHC
The county’s portion of the funding for the mental health provider at the school-based health clinics (SBHC) will not be available after the end of the fall semester (Dec 2026). The program has asked the United Good Neighbors Campaign for the $15,000 needed to finish out the school year (June 2027). Finding an additional $34,400 in funding would keep the provider seeing students through December 2028. As was mentioned at the meeting, the county has a range of programs that it must support, and their portion of the funding for the mental health provider at the SBHCs was never guaranteed to be permanent. Every Public Health entity in the state has been told by the state that there’s not going to be much PH funding beyond the absolute basics until FY2028.
For most students in the county, the mental health provider in the SBHC is the only way they get mental health services. The three school boards involved are still trying to wrap their heads around how these cuts will affect the students. The county’s 1/10th of 1% fund (considered a fund of last resort) has been used on-and-off since 2008 to fund part of the costs of having a mental health provider at the SBHC when no other funding was available.
The meeting included a description of all the ways PH has found funds over the last decades to pay for this program. Previously a business was providing the counseling, the county decided they would not do the funding through this business, and that’s when the SBHC moved to the funding of last resort. They then also got a grant from the WA Dept of Health and from a prevention coalition to fund the mental health providers. But then prevention coalitions funding determined that prevention money could not be used for mental health. The presenter noted that funding the SBHC is like working on a moving staircase. They are always working very diligently to find other funding sources. They cobble money together in every way they can. So much of PH funding is grant based money that comes and goes, and these programs are all at risk of closing. She finished by noting that this is important and we need to keep sounding the alarm about the poor ways these programs are funded.
If you have the means to make a donation to support the mental health provider at the SBHC, you can put “for SBHC mental health provider” in your comment when you donate via this Friends of Public Health website.
Public Comments: The health impact of clearing encampments and Flock cameras with a view of PH
Two virtual public comments had come in prior to the meeting, to include one request to look at the encampment policy and how it relates to health outcomes sent in by Well-Organized. Apple Martine read the full response PH sent to Well-Organized. The Board of Health meeting in September will focus on the issue of encampment clearing and the implications seen in the past year to the two events.
The second comment came from Nourishing Beloved Community regarding the Flock cameras up at QFC, given that PH is in the same compound as QFC. There was concern that the Flock camera that QFC put up in QFC’s part of the parking lot could capture people going into PH for their healthcare needs.
PH asked QFC about what can be seen from their Flock camera did not get an answer from QFC. Since that public comment came in, the Flock camera was removed. It is not clear to PH where the camera is now, but it is not in its previous location at the front of the QFC. There was a concern expressed that people visiting PH deserve their privacy, and PH will be paying attention to whether the camera returns.
Infectious Disease Update:
The wastewater sampling has resumed. Testing shows very low levels of Covid in the county and there currently are no hospitalizations. Clallam has 27 cases of pertussis. With pertussis, only 1 in 10 cases get caught, so the formal estimate is that there are about 270 cases present in Clallam right now. Most of the cases are elementary age kids. Folks are urged to make sure everyone in your family is up to date on your tetanus/pertussis vaccine, and folks are urged to get one if you are not. Coughing fits, particularly coughing that leads to vomiting, is the key symptom to look for. There are antibiotics for pertussis, so if someone gets pertussis, it can be treated to lessen the severity.
There are 13,000+ confirmed cyclospora cases in the US and 10,000+ cases to investigate. The lack of investigators is a key reason for the spread. Dr. Berry noted that this is what happens when PH funding is cut at a national level. The trickle down of funding impacts every level of functioning of the PH systems that keep folks safe, and investigate outbreaks efficiently. Buying local produce is the easiest way to avoid cyclospora.
Regarding the executive order on splitting out the combined vaccines, there is no scientific data behind separating the data. Anyone with concerns about vaccinations can talk to their pediatrician and most doctors are willing to work out schedules to make sure your family is protected. The MMR vaccine is not available separately, so anyone wishing to wait will have to wait a long time.
In response to a question about the egg-salmonella issue, there have not been any cases in the area related to the national salmonella outbreak. The most common salmonella cases in the county come from those who eat poultry while camping. Other cases are related to backyard poultry, as the spring chicks are now old enough to spread salmonella. Dr. Berry shared a song she uses with her young children related to their backyard poultry: If you play with poultry wash your hands (clap-clap), if you play with poultry wash your hands (clap-clap), we will scrub like Cinderella to avoid salmonella, if you play with poultry wash your hands (clap-clap).
Some Success Stories: Creating positive experiences for youth to help them cope with adverse events (the work of four micro-grant recipients)
One in four county youth are disaffected, and more then 25% of Jefferson County teens reported binge-drinking in the last two weeks, double the rate of WA in general. There was a discussion of what is meant by “childhood adverse experiences,” and how having multiple levels of positive experiences can offset these. The goal of these programs is to create positive experiences to protect youth against adverse experiences, even in cases of extended adverse experience. Having two adults outside of the family who show support is one of the key positive experiences with measurable levels of protection.
One grant was used by The Nest for a photo booth for youth at Pride with an immediate printer so that the youth could leave with their photos. They also created a quiet space with a huge inflatable couch for youth to decompress but still be near the action. They also gave away positive message cards. Their space really focused on the documented four building blocks of hope: relationships that are safe and supportive, safe equitable place to live and play, engagement in meaningful efforts, and emotional growth. So this grant was used for stacking up all four of these building blocks. OWL staff also donated 54 hours of their time as part of the use of this grant. There were at least 300+ youth who participated.
One grant supported the school medical autism review team (SMART). It can be stressful for parents seeking an autism evaluation, particularly one that accepts their health insurance. The state does not provide enough funding for a full-time employee for this program, so it typically was assigned to someone with other duties. PH chose to do the SMART teams option, build a community around this, and get providers already working with kids trained to do the full evaluations. Dr. Bower, who already works in the school-based health center, got trained in how to do the evaluations because her position is already where the kids are, and she already is a Medicaid provider. She is working to get the word out that students waiting for evaluation on someone else’s waitlist for an evaluation can get their evaluation here. The evaluations require meeting with the family first, then collecting the school information, and then the packet of data to determine whether to do the evaluation. The appointment with the child takes an hour, and afterwards there’s an hour meeting to review the results. After that comes the interaction with the school and the effort to support everyone through the results. Kids with Apple Health need a formal diagnosis to get certain supports, and not all the services that exist are present in rural areas. But this reduces one barrier to care. It is unclear how many students in the county are on a waitlist to be evaluated. There are ongoing discussions with the primary schools to make them aware of the program. There was a discussion of connecting the program to the birth-to-three programs so that the nurses doing family visits and noticing possible indicators to get kids connected to services quickly.
The Scouting Program then briefed on the rebuilding of Scout Troop 1479, which is now open to anyone of any gender. After Covid, there were 2 scouts left in the county. The rebuilding began with cub scouts who are now aging into scouting. The troop is currently too small for the sort of fundraising that can be done in a larger scout troop, so the grant allowed Troop 1479 to take the new scouts to summer camp, which is considered a crucial step in the independence and learning of the scouts. Each morning the scouts learned about the courses and activities available that morning and had to decide what to prioritize, choices between fun skills and scout skills to advance through the scout ranks. Right now, there are 6 total scouts, and 5 were able to go to camp. It will take 5-6 years to build the leadership structure back among the scouts.
Jefferson County Soccer Club’s Director of Generosity briefed on the indoor futsal tournament held at the PT Rec Center thanks to the mini-grant. (Futsal is an indoor soccer played with a smaller ball, and the open futsal time at the Rec Center welcomes everyone of all ages to play.) She shared the Soccer Club’s values and the way the Board used the grant application to codify their values. Their previous tournaments used 2 balls and homemade, donated barriers to separate the games. This grant allowed them to get 8 balls and other supplies to extend the tournament to 4 days and allow younger children to play. The event involved the children in the planning and the forming of the teams. She spoke of the way the Soccer Club has built community, including a what’s app thread for all the parents to support each other and transport the kids so no one misses out on an event. There is intergenerational play involved, with kids up to age 80 playing . The grant paid for all the equipment needed, and the equipment will continue to get used each week at their open futsal games.
Update Coming to the Local Management Plan for On-site Sewage Treatment
The plan outlines how PH manages all aspects of on-site sewage code. The last update at the state level was April 2025, so PH must update their code by April 2027. Most of the required elements are the same, with minor changes. There is new language is on phosphorus exposure and on potential for sea level rise. There is also now a requirement for local jurisdictions to update their LMP every five years. There was a review of the evolution of the LMP since 2007, to include the homeowner self-inspection plan and the training that goes with it. The packet for the meeting includes the draft of the 2027 revision. There will be community discussions in September 23 for septic professionals and the following week will be a meeting for community interest holders. Emails have been sent out widely in the community, and flyers will be posted around. They hope for a revised update by December so that they can meet the April deadline set by the state.
