|
Senior Health Priority on the GO! |
| |
Mr. Charles Kelly assumed the position of Senior Health
Coordinator effective June 16, 2003.
The Senior Health Outreach Coordinator position is part of one-year pilot
program established by the 4C's Governing Board. The board established Senior
Health as a priority and budgeted resources towards informing, educating, and
linking underserved seniors to needed health services. Prior to his selection,
Mr. Kelly served on the District's health boards. He has a Master of Public
Health degree and a long work history involving a variety of senior health
concerns. Mr. Kelly's background and expertise will help to implement a
successful pilot program with measurable outcomes to improve healthcare access
among underserved Seniors. The Clinic Leadership team has established a monthly
report to monitor the program and will develop an employee incentive program to
reward employees who demonstrate exceptional contributions towards the senior
health priority. For more information, please contact Dr. Mark Guidry at mguidry@gchd.org, or call (409) 938-2401.
|
|
Nuisance Investigation |
| |
The Pollution Control staff is currently investigating allegations of an odor
nuisance at a north county business. Citizen complaints allege strong odors that
are impacting their quality of life. Under authority of an agreement with the
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, staff worked to quantify the odor
nuisance and to offer suggestions to the business owner in attempt to resolve
the matter. For more information, please contact Ronnie Schultz, Pollution
Control Director, at rschultz@gchd.org, or call (409) 938-2314. |
District News Releases
The Health District issued several
news releases this month. |
 |
On June 2, 2003, the Health District distributed
information to local media outlets concerning its
Strategic Health Planning Process initiated on May 16th at a retreat with
board members to develop draft health priorities. . The draft health priorities
are currently being widely distributed as part of an effort to gather community
input. The final product will be a Galveston County Health Plan approved by both
the Galveston County United Board of Health, and the 4 C's Governing Board. See
The Daily News article. For more information, please contact Brian
Rutherford, Public Health Planner, at brutherford@gchd.org
or call (409) 938-2275. |
|
|
On June 2, 2003, the district staff distributed
summertime
heat precautions to the public: These precautions were reported in the Texas
City Sun on June 3, 2003. For more information, please contact Kurt Koopmann,
Public Information Specialist, at kkoopman@ghcd.org
or call (409) 938-2211.
|
|
|
On June 23, 2003, the Health District
provided notice of a
public hearing concerning proposed changes to the local rabies vaccinations
requirements. The hearing is being conducted to seek community input on the
proposed changes. The Texas City Sun printed the notice. For more information,
please contact Marty Entringer, Director of Environmental and Consumer Health,
at mentringer@gchd.org, or call (409) 938-2458.
|
|
|
On June 23, 2003
The Daily News published a story concerning efforts in the community to
control the stray animal population in Galveston County. The story
focused on an interest to establish a low-cost spaying and neutering program.
Marty Entringer, Director of Environmental and Consumer Health, is quoted in the
story. For more information, please contact Marty Entringer, Director of
Environmental and Consumer Health, at mentringer@gchd.org, or call (409)
938-2458
|
|
4C’s Clinic Updates |
|
|
From February 1 to April 30, 2003, staff monitoring of
performance indicators show the following findings: Prenatal follow-up audits,
suggest that the ongoing monthly decrease in prenatal patients is due to loss of
patients who become Medicaid eligible and subsequently decide to seek care with
a private provider. Patient Complaints have increased compared to the
previous quarter due to appointment complaints. While there are fewer medical
appointment complaints, dental appointment complaints have increased. Similarly,
data suggests that Patient Satisfaction
for the Texas City Dental Clinic has decreased, while data on medical services
in Galveston suggest increased satisfaction. The Diabetes Data
in the month of March and April was lost due to an electronic malfunction.
Staffs are researching solutions to the problem. For more information, please
contact Pam Jahnke, Quality Assurance Director, at pjahnke@gchd.org, or call (409) 949-3403.
|
|
|
At the last 4C's Governing Board meeting,
transportation
barriers were discussed. Staff members have reviewed available transportation
options for 4C's patients on Galveston Island and on the Mainland and how these
barriers may impact appointments and elevated rates of "no-shows" for scheduled
appointments. Staff will present findings and recommendations to the Governing
Board to reduce or eliminate the barriers. For more information, please contact
Umair Shah, MD, MPH, Medical Director at
ushah@gchd.org, or call (409) 949-3406.
|
|
|
The Clinic Leadership Team is working to evaluate and enhance
staffing during evening hours (5 pm - 8 pm) for patient care. Evening
hours are required by federal regulations in community health clinics and are
seen as a convenience for some patients who cannot make daytime appointments.
The Medical Director issued a memorandum to all 4C's Clinic employees clarifying
responsibilities and expectations of staffing to improve patient access to a
comprehensive array of services between 5 pm and 8 pm. Given the current
underutilized clinic capacity, further efforts are needed to inform patients and
the public of the availability of evening services and to better accommodate
patients, walk-in patients and those who require nursing and provider
assessments (i.e., triage or screening). For more information, please contact
Umair Shah, MD, MPH, Medical Director at
ushah@gchd.org
or call (409) 949-3406 or contact Dr. Mark Guidry, Executive Director, at mguidry@gchd.org
or 409-938-2401.
|
|
District Business and Operational Issues |
|
|
On Wednesday, June 4, 2003, United States Representative Nick
Lampson announced that the Veterans Administration had agreed to fund the “long
delayed” Veterans Clinic for Galveston County. For the past three years,
the Health District through its 4C’s Clinics have been working with the
Administration of the VA Hospital in Houston to make this a reality. For
additional information please contact Jay Holland, Chief Operating Officer, at
jholland@gchd.org, or call 409-938-2401.
|
|
|
On Friday, June 20, 2003, the
FY04 Bioterrorism Grant in the amount of $409,222 was submitted to the
Office of Public Health Practice, TDH Austin. This grant is a continuation of
planning efforts that began in June 2003. One additional position is proposed
for FY04, a SNS (Strategic National Stockpile) Coordinator. This person will
plan and coordinate activities for disbursement of medications/supplies during
an emergency. For additional information please contact Jay Holland, Chief
Operating Officer, at
jholland@gchd.org, or Brian Rutherford, Health Planner, at brutherford@gchd.org. Both can be reached by telephone at 409-938-2401.
|
|
|
In June 2003, the District signed
Contracts with TDH to provide services in the following areas: (1) BCCCP
(Breast and Cervical Cancer Program) in the amount of $43,000. These funds are
used to provide mammograms to women of a particular age and income group. (2)
HIV Prevention in the amount of $218,000 to provide outreach to various
categories of persons of high risk. (3) WIC rates were increased from $8.78 to
$9.28 per participant in the WIC program. For more information, please contact
Jay Holland, Chief Operating Officer, at jholland@gchd.org, or call (409) 938-2401.
|
|
|
District staff met with the Galveston County Commissioners'
Court to outline the
County FY 04 Budget Requests. The Court’s budget message indicated that
general operations were to be maintained at FY 03 levels and the District’s
request maintained that level with the exception of additional funding necessary
to meet the salary adjustments authorized by the Court in January 2003.
Additional funds of $300,000 for indigent health care, $150,000 for capital
purchases and $754,000 in facility maintenance/rehabilitation was requested. In
addition, the Pollution Control Director presented several budget scenarios to
the Galveston County Commissioners' Court describing costs associated with the
federally mandated Storm Water Management Program required of cities of greater
than 1,000 populations. The budget scenarios were dependent on the number of
cities along with the county participating in a cooperative effort to implement
the seven (7) program objectives. For more information please contact Jay
Holland, Chief Operations Office, at jholland@gchd.org, or call (409) 938-2401.
|
|
|
The Executive Team and District Management Team have approved
the following policy in the last month: Work Environment, which sets
guiding principles and professional expectations of employees regarding the work
environment. As adopted by both health boards, Human Resource policies will be
approved by the Executive Director and brought to the board on an annual basis.
For more information, please contact Kathrine Hall, Human Resources Director,
at khall@gchd.org
or call (409) 938-2230
|
| |
Starting July 10, 2003, the Health District will begin a
training program for employees on Customer Service and
Cultural Diversity. This
training initiative was developed and reviewed by both the Executive and
District Management Teams as a first step in meeting goals to improving
customer/public services. A new policy (currently under development) and a new
position will serve to sustain and support the District's goals. For more
information, please contact Kathrine Hall, Human Resources Director, at
khall@gchd.org, or call (409) 938-2230.
|
|
State Reviews of District Programs |
|
|
The Texas Department of Health reviewed
our Sexually Transmitted Disease Program June 16-18, 2003. We have not
yet received the formal written evaluation of the site visit. This visit was
conducted using a new evaluation tool and clarification on some items has been
requested from TDH Central Office. A report will be made to the board when the
final report is received. For more information, please contact Jim Hilton, STD
Program Director, at jhilton@gchd.org
or call (409) 765-2528.
|
