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Board of Health approves 30-day public comment period for proposed Summit County Health Department fees and new services
Summary
The Board unanimously voted to initiate a 30-day public comment period after staff presented proposed fee changes and new clinical services, including in-house rapid lead screening, expanded STI testing, antibody titers and a sliding-fee adult vaccine program.
Summit County Health Department staff presented proposed new clinical services and fees and the Board of Health voted unanimously to open a 30-day public comment period on the proposed changes.
Derek (clinical services lead) described proposed additions and clarifications to the department's fee schedule. Key proposals included: in-house rapid blood lead screening (finger-prick screening) enabled by donated equipment, expanding sexually transmitted infection testing to include trichomonas in addition to chlamydia and gonorrhea, offering individual and panel measles/mumps/rubella antibody titers, and creating a sliding-fee structure for the county's adult vaccine program to match the Vaccines for Children (VFC) sliding-fee model (proposed maximum of $15; reduced or waived for inability to pay). Derek said the new rapid lead testing would be a screening tool to expand outreach and mobile-van use and that the donated machine required department maintenance; he also described per-test fee examples (for instance, with the rapid lead test the total cost with fee and test would be about $13 under the proposed structure).
Staff said the new services are enabled by a lab partnership and a donated analyzer; the department emphasized it would not turn away people who could not pay and that inability to pay would be handled through a conversation at intake, consistent with other sliding-fee programs. Staff requested Board approval to begin the 30-day public comment period; after the comment period, staff will present public comments and a formal adoption request at a subsequent meeting. If adopted, staff said services could begin after the required comment-and-adoption timeline (staff referenced an operational start date after the public comment and adoption window, with July dates discussed as examples).
Board action: A board member moved to initiate the 30-day public comment period for the proposed health department fees; another member seconded the motion and the board voted "Aye" with no recorded opposition. The board later moved and approved the May 5, 2025 meeting minutes (motion seconded and approved) and a motion to adjourn (all approved).
Ending: Staff will accept written public comment during the 30-day window, compile and present comments to the board, and return with a formal adoption request and any revisions after the comment period.
