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Nassau County health officer reports growth in clinical visits, WIC participation and transition of septic program
Summary
Health officer Cara Gluck told commissioners the county health department’s operating budget is about $5.75 million with $1.2 million in local support; WIC participation and breastfeeding rates increased and the county is preparing for a statutorily-required transfer of septic oversight to the Department of Environmental Protection.
Cara Gluck, the Nassau County health officer, briefed the Board of County Commissioners on March 10 with a six-month update on services, staffing and capital needs.
Gluck told commissioners the department’s operating budget is about $5.75 million, funded by a mix of state, federal and local dollars and user fees, and said the county provides about $1.2 million in local support. “Most of our dollars are going to our salaries,” she told the board, noting staff growth supports expanded services.
Gluck reported improvements across several programs. Women, Infants and Children (WIC) participation increased about 9 percent after the department opened a location on Fernandina Island and expanded clinic days from four to five per week; breastfeeding rates rose 12 percentage points, moving Nassau above the state average. Healthy Start referrals, the department’s home-visitation program for pregnant people and families with children up to age 5, increased roughly 45 percent after intake and referral coordination improvements.
Environmental and clinical work also showed activity: the department completed nearly 1,000 inspections during the six-month reporting period, resumed beach water sampling, and increased clinical visits by about 19 percent compared with the prior year. Mosquito surveillance identified several arbovirus detections in sentinel sites, and staff said they use those detections to shape prevention and response efforts.
Gluck summarized three items of near-term interest: the statutory transfer of on-site sewage treatment and disposal system (OSTDS) oversight from the Department of Health to the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), beach water testing resumption, and efforts to procure a mobile clinical unit. She said the DEP transfer could begin as soon as July 1 under recent statute changes, but locally she expected the county’s transition to be closer to September and pledged to keep the board informed of timing and impacts.
Gluck also said the department is launching a community health assessment and aims to collect about 5,000 resident surveys across the county to guide a subsequent community health improvement plan. She noted a mobile unit remains contingent on federal funding decisions; “If not, we’ll identify other avenues,” she told the board.
Commissioners thanked Gluck for the report. Commissioner Gray said he had toured the department’s sites and praised morale and facility updates; Commissioner Martin asked about county designation thresholds and was told the state’s county-size categories are currently small (up to 100,000), medium (to 250,000), large (to 500,000) and metro above that, and New State Department of Health threshold rules are under review.
The county manager and staff said they will continue coordination with the department on capital needs such as warehouse buildout for preparedness materials and on updating fee schedules to reflect service provisions.
