Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Health Programs topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Warrick County Health Department outlines outreach, grants and program updates
Summary
Administrator April Ecks reported on approved appropriations, Region 8 GROW grant participation, planned prom extrication demos, public screenings and ongoing work on electronic health records and interpreter services; community medic rollout awaits Ascension legal review.
The Warrick County Health Department provided a broad program update at the board meeting, covering finances, regional grant work, outreach events and operational priorities.
April Ecks reported account balances for departmental appropriations and pledged to supply a grant‑by‑grant spending breakdown to improve transparency. She said account 1159 had a total appropriation of $868,140.71 with an unexpended balance of $792,589.06, and account 1161 had a total appropriation of $511,892 and an unexpended balance of $480,063.78.
On programming, staff described participation in Region 8 GROW grant subcommittees for chronic disease and pediatrics and urged board members to identify regional priorities such as translation services and electronic health‑record capacity. "If you can break it down to the hospital will subcontract with you to offer it for $5,000 a year, that's amazing," a board member said while discussing vendor and hospital partnership models for EHR access.
The department plans community outreach events including a public blood pressure screening on April 27 with Impact Ministries, nutrition classes in partnership with Purdue (with incentives such as air fryers and boxed groceries for attendees), and prom/graduation extrication demonstrations at county high schools involving Life Flight, fire departments and EMT students.
On the community medic program, Ecks said County Council has approved the appropriations and "we are just waiting on Ascension and we're ready to roll then after that," meaning final legal review by Ascension must be completed before the arrangement proceeds to county commissioners for final approval.
Staff also flagged increased immigration‑related needs and said they are pursuing interpreter services and other partnerships to expand access. The board asked staff to provide clearer grant accounting to avoid returning unspent funds and to show how proposed activities map to available grant sources.
Next steps: staff will circulate a grant activity breakdown and follow up when Ascension legal review of the community medic agreement is complete.
