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Island County OKs amendment to state health contract to fund workforce and public health infrastructure
Summary
The Island County Board of Commissioners approved Consolidated Contract Amendment No. 3 with the Washington State Department of Health to add workforce development, public health infrastructure and on‑site septic outreach funding, Public Health Director Sean Morris said.
The Island County Board of Commissioners on April 8 approved Consolidated Contract Amendment No. 3 with the Washington State Department of Health to add expected funding for workforce development, public health infrastructure and on‑site septic outreach, Public Health Director Sean Morris told the board.
“This consolidated contract amendment is 1 of our usual amendments that from the Department of Health. It adds expected funding for, office of from office of health resiliency and health security. This is, workforce development funding that we've been using to partly support the county's, efforts related to, diversity, equity, and inclusion,” Morris said during the April 8 meeting.
Morris told the commissioners the amendment also brings funds from a CDC public health infrastructure grant that the county has used to support staffing. “We did recently have a, rollback of our epidemiology and laboratory capacity funding or ELC related to, COVID‑nineteen funding,” he said, adding that the county’s budget remains “in good shape” despite that change.
Morris described program-level uses: the amendment supports outreach and engagement tied to the county’s on‑site septic program, including a rebate program that helps low‑income residents pay for inspections, and it funds emergency preparedness work. “The Office of Health Resiliency, the public health emergency preparedness funding, that is also ongoing funding that supports our PEPRA coordinator who works closely with depart Division of Emergency Management on our public health resiliency and preparedness efforts related to our essential support function, ESF 8, for the Public Health Department,” Morris said.
A commissioner moved and a second was recorded; the motion passed with the vote called as “Aye.” No roll‑call vote tally with individual commissioner votes was recorded in the transcript.
The board approved the amendment as presented and thanked Morris for the overview. The commissioners also noted the timing coincided with National Public Health Week, an item several commissioners referenced during later announcements.
The amendment documentation and the consolidated contract with the Washington State Department of Health were not read in full on the record; commissioners and staff said the funding is routine for the department and consistent with prior state amendments.
The board's action was taken during the regular meeting; commissioners later recessed for an executive session and returned for additional business later in the day.
