Montgomery County health director asks commissioners to sign $172,006 health grant; reports rising WIC caseload and local public-health work

Montgomery County health staff asked the Board of County Commissioners to approve and sign acceptance documents for multiple health grants totaling $172,006.61 and gave an extended update on department operations, staffing and program needs.

The health representative said the package covers several grants including the core public-health grant, reinvestment grants and maternal-child health funding. “That is for the 26 fiscal year,” the presenter said when describing grant timing and noted some grants are one-year awards while others span two years. The board moved and approved a motion for the chairman to sign the grants.

In a lengthy operational briefing, the health representative said the county’s WIC caseload has increased by about 113 clients compared with last year and that the program is now serving roughly 684 active participants. The presenter linked the rise to local immigration and increased grocery costs and said WIC clinics have expanded from two days to roughly five days a week to meet demand. “We are at 684 as of January,” the health representative said.

The department also reported increased use of grant funds to prepay software and vaccine-refrigeration monitoring contracts, expansion of breastfeeding education and a “becoming a mom” class paid from maternal-child-health funding. Staffing remains a constraint; the presenter said one open position was reclassified to a medical assistant because of recruitment difficulty for a nurse and for cost effectiveness.

On sexual-assault nursing (SANE) training, the health representative described an offer from Pittsburg State University to provide the 40-hour initial SANE course with possible reimbursement for travel from the grant. County staff said two nurses could attend the training at no tuition cost and that clinical hours required for certification could be completed by shadowing local hospital staff. The presenter argued that locally available certified SANE nurses could reduce transport and outside-hospital costs for forensic exams. Commissioners asked for a written resolution to authorize participation; the presenter said she would prepare one for the board.

Other items discussed included continued monitoring of tuberculosis cases and measles activity in other states; use of handheld translation devices for Spanish-language assistance; the county’s opioid-settlement funds (described as variable, arriving as legal settlements are finalized); and the planned use of a county trailer for Safe Kids outreach events starting in May.

The health representative also requested assistance with building access and privacy: vaccine clinics need a partition for privacy, and the department’s key-card access software has not yet been installed on newly issued computers. “I still need to get the key card access,” she said, asking staff to coordinate updates. Commissioners directed county IT and administration to help resolve the access and monitoring issues.

Commissioners approved the motion that granted signature authority for the health grant package. The motion carried with all three commissioners voting yes.

The department asked the board to approve sending two nurses to SANE training; commissioners asked for a resolution and the presenter said she would bring one forward.

The health briefing closed with follow-up direction for staff to coordinate on grants, key-card access, camera monitoring and the proposed landscaping plan for the clinic building’s frontage.

Ending: Commissioners accepted the grant-signature motion and asked staff to return with the SANE training resolution and any budget implications for grant reimbursements or local matches.