Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Health topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Riley County health director and child-care licensing supervisor report staffing, EHR and licensing changes
Summary
Health Department Director Diane Creek and Child Care Licensing Supervisor Heather Ritchie briefed the commission on department onboarding, public-health preparedness, an incoming clinic nurse, plans to replace the electronic health record, and child-care licensing changes under new regulations covering five counties.
Diane Creek, director of the Riley County Health Department, updated commissioners on department onboarding, emergency-preparedness coordination, staffing and planned technology changes.
Creek said she began Dec. 9 and has been meeting with program supervisors, HR and finance staff. She described ongoing work to resume public-health emergency-preparedness responsibilities with the state (KDHE), and said the department will request approval to hire a public-health emergency-preparedness coordinator (position currently vacant). She reported that a nurse for the county clinic has been hired and is scheduled to start next Tuesday. Creek said the department is evaluating electronic health-record (EHR) systems because current vendor support is limited and that budget presentations for the health department will be submitted to the commission on March 6.
Creek said staff are studying possible consolidation of health-department space and will participate in a county space-needs assessment; she also described outreach efforts to rural communities and ongoing collaboration with local partners including the school district, Kansas State University and Pawnee Mental Health.
Heather Ritchie, child-care licensing supervisor, provided an annual licensing update. Ritchie said the licensing unit serves five counties (Riley, Geary, Clay, Dickinson and Pottawatomie) and currently counts 251 licensed facilities across the service area. She described a shift in inspector assignments so specialists now survey in every county and said the office will hold in-person meetings for providers to explain the staffing change.
Ritchie summarized regulatory changes effective Aug. 2 (federal Child Care and Development Fund-related updates), including capacity increases for some homes and preschools, changes to staff qualification requirements and a new provider health-status form. She said the office delivered multiple training sessions last year to assist providers with regulation updates, provided fingerprinting appointments and completed 44 home orientations and seven center orientations. Complaint activity totaled 50 in the last year; Ritchie said the office has already recorded 12 complaints so far this year and that some investigations require law-enforcement or Department for Children and Families coordination.
Both directors fielded brief questions from commissioners; no formal action was required on the reports.
