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County public-health report: CHA survey, HEAP cooling opens April 15; childcare demand strains state funding
Summary
Sullivan County public-health and social-services staff reported a positive on-site New York State Department of Health survey of the County Health Agency, said the HEAP cooling component will open April 15, and warned that expanded childcare subsidy demand may outstrip state funding by fall.
Sullivan County public-health officials told the Health and Human Services committee that the New York State Department of Health conducted a surprise survey of the County Health Agency (CHA) and spent six days on site; staff said they had no final written report but that the exit feedback was generally positive and identified a small number of corrective actions.
The public-health director said February produced 1,434 billable visits at CHA and that nursing and physical-therapy services were the most utilized. The director said the department is "PT heavy" and has an open physical therapist position.
County social-services staff also outlined two statewide programs residents rely on: HEAP and the state's expanded childcare subsidy. HEAP's cooling component will open April 15; county staff advised residents that funding for the cooling component is limited and that the county expects the program may be out of money by early to mid-June based on current statewide funding and demand.
On childcare, staff said the governor's expanded program increases eligibility up to 300% of the federal poverty level and covers additional absences; the county reported strong uptake and said it expects current funding to be sufficient only through September or October unless the state provides further support. County staff warned that if state funding does not increase, the county may need to place families on wait lists.
Public-health staff also reported outreach metrics: 82 public-health kits dispensed from vending machines in February and 26 kits distributed directly during outreach. They reported a large decrease in communicable-disease reports from January to February, including a 191-case decline in COVID-specific reports. The director also expressed concern that the committee could not vote on a medical-consultant resolution because the county is down to one rabies vaccine dose.
Committee members asked for clarifying data, such as counts behind percentage changes (for example, falls within the county care center decreased 5% month to month), and staff agreed to provide those details and the underlying CASPER and quality-measure reports as requested.
