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Swain County health director presents annual policies, fee changes and child fatality report; board approves
Summary
The county health director presented annual policies and fees, reported four child deaths in 2024, outlined staffing openings and accreditation deadlines, and commissioners approved the health-department items.
The Swain County health director on March 18 presented the health department’s annual policies and fee schedule, a child fatality report for 2024 and updates on staffing and accreditation; commissioners approved the matter by motion.
The director said there were no substantive policy changes to the documents the board reviews annually, but noted more materials were presented early this year because the health department must upload evidence for accreditation by June 1 and expects a site visit in the fall. The director described existing billing practices, including Medicaid billing for children’s services (STD, family planning and childhood vaccines) and efforts to bill Medicaid for adult health services. Office-visit fees that had previously been zeroed out were reinstated after changes to Medicaid reimbursement rules.
On child fatalities, the director reported four deaths in 2024: one homicide by drug overdose related to fentanyl ingestion; one death from a swallowed object that became lodged in a child’s airway; one child homicide by blunt-force trauma (abuse); and one teenage suicide by hanging. Commissioners asked for context on trends; the director said sexually transmitted infection counts were trending downward year-to-year and provided corrections to the department’s spreadsheet for gonorrhea and chlamydia counts.
The director also reported staffing openings (WIC director, processing assistant, two registered nurses and two environmental health specialists) and a free blood-work program offered in partnership with the Great Smoky Mountains Health Foundation. The director said she had written to state legislators about House Bill 197, which would modify communicable-disease funding formulas; she provided county yield estimates under several statewide appropriation scenarios.
Commissioners moved and seconded approval of the health department’s policies, fee schedule and associated reports; the board approved the package by voice/hand vote.
