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Board dissolves two advisory bodies and endorses move to community-based health coalition
Summary
The Board of County Commissioners voted to abolish the Community Health Advisory Committee and the Human Services Council and supported staff plans to transition their functions into a community-based health improvement coalition led by public-health and human-services partners.
The St. Mary’s County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday approved a resolution dissolving the county’s Community Health Advisory Committee and the Human Services Council and supported a transition to a community-based coalition to coordinate local health improvement work.
Laura James Harris of the Department of Aging and Human Services presented the proposal and said staff and members of both bodies had discussed merging the two groups into an independent, community-based coalition. Dr. Mina Brewster, the county health officer, outlined the local health improvement process and the four priorities identified in the most recent community health needs assessment: overweight and obesity (healthy eating and active living), tobacco exposure and secondhand smoke, behavioral health (including mental health and substance abuse), and access to health care.
Harris briefed commissioners on accomplishments of the Human Services Council, including drafting a human services chapter for the county comprehensive plan and recommending emergency assistance allocations in prior budgets. She also noted membership and quorum challenges in recent years, which prompted staff to consider a new structure. “The idea of having more of a community based coalition ... is allowing for greater participation throughout the community,” Dr. Brewster said.
Commissioners asked how the coalition would comply with state code requirements for local advisory bodies; staff said community-based forms used in other Maryland counties remain compliant and that members would decide whether to incorporate as a nonprofit (501(c)(3)) or remain an association of partners. Commissioners unanimously approved the resolution, moved by Commissioner Lawrence Jarboe and seconded by Commissioner Todd B. Morgan.
Staff said the coalition will use a steering committee made up of action-team co-chairs to coordinate the work on the four health priorities and that partner organizations already engaged include MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital, Department of Social Services, Walden Sierra and county Departments of Aging and of Health. The board’s action transfers advisory functions to the new community-based structure and directs staff to proceed with the transition.
