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Health Boards Welcome New Members and Officers |
Press release
September 5, 2007 |
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La Marque –
At regularly scheduled meetings the Galveston
County United Board of Health (UBOH) and the 4C’s Governing Board elected
officers and welcomed new members.
The United Board of Health
is a thirteen member policy-making board responsible for policy oversight of
public health functions to include EMS and a variety of environmental and
community health services.
UBOH board members voted
to retain all current officers for the new term to end in April 2008. John
Zendt, representing the food service hospitality industry, will continue to
serve as Chairperson; Dr. Ben Raimer, UTMB’s Vice Chair of Community Outreach,
will continue serving as Vice Chair; and Mary Anne Holcomb, a municipal
representative and Kemah city councilperson, was reappointed to the position of
Secretary-Treasurer.
Several members with terms
expiring were reappointed to two year membership terms and agreed to continue
serving. In addition to the officers above, other reappointed members were
Citizen at Large representatives Ted Hanley, Dr. Patricia Rogers, and Dr. Milton
Howard.
After five years of
service on the United Board of Health member Jan Winnike, RN stepped down.
Winnike was presented a plaque for her service by Health District CEO Dr. Mark
Guidry and Board Chair, John Zendt. Filling the vacant position is Paulette
Roberson, BSN, a certified Nurse Administrator and Nurse Manager in UTMB’s
Behavioral Medicine Nursing department. New members are nominated by the
Galveston County Commissioner's Court and approved by majority vote of the 13
member cities.
UBOH members review and
set policy for the Health District. Recent actions taken by the members include
oversight of an EMS expansion on the mainland, new food safety policies and
regulations, and a proposed new animal services policy/regulation for the
unincorporated areas of Galveston County and participating cities of Bayou
Vista, Clear Lake Shores, Dickinson, Hitchcock, Kemah, La Marque, Santa Fe,
Texas City and Tiki Island.
The proposed Animal
Services policy is currently in the second step of policy development. The
UBOH held a public hearing on the proposed policy on August 29th at
Health District Headquarters, 1207 Oak Street, La Marque at 6 p.m. Additional
information on the hearing along with the policy can be found at
www.gchd.org/press/2007/08AnimalServicesHearing.htm. In the next step of
policy development, member cities will review and provide comment prior to the
next board meeting on September 26th.
Overseeing policy of the
4C's Clinics, the 4C’s Governing Board also held officer elections. Dr. Milton
Howard, DDS, a community representative and member of the United Board of
Health, was reelected Chair of the 4C’s Governing Board. Dr. Howard is a
dentist with a private practice in La Marque who started his career in public
health with the District in 1972. Members reelected Ms. Mary McCall, a consumer
representative, to serve as Vice Chair as well as Ms. Virginia Valentino as the
Secretary-Treasurer. Ms. Valentino is a consumer representative on the board
and an educator at Our Lady of Lourdes School in Hitchcock.
At the meeting county
attorney Harvey Bazaman resigned after serving on the 4C's board since
2004. Bazaman was presented a plaque for his service by Health District CEO Dr.
Mark Guidry and Board Chair, Dr. Milton Howard. Filling his seat on the board
will be Don Glywasky. Mr. Glywasky has served as an attorney for Galveston
County the past 22 years and has assisted the Health District with many public
health matters during that time. 4C's Board members are nominated by the UBOH.
Consumer Representative
Dorothy Goodman and Community Representative Elizabeth Kinard were both
reappointed to the Governing Board.
The 4C’s Governing Board
sets policy for the two 4C’s Clinics in Galveston County. One clinic is located
at 2000 Texas Avenue in the Texas City Community Family Center; and the other is
located in Galveston’s Island Community Center at 4700 Broadway. The Board
has worked on improving access to care, patient satisfaction, healthcare
financing, and planning for improving clinic flow through restructuring clinic
processes and facility design.
Dr. Mark Guidry, Galveston
County Health Authority and Chief Executive Officer for the Health District
says, “Board members give their time, wisdom, and support to district priorities
and activities. The involvement of members on both boards allows us to
continually improve public services as well as plan for new and emerging health
threats."
Board members approve the
District’s Strategic Health Plan (2004-2010) and an Annual Progress Report of
district activities accomplishments and challenges. The 2006 Annual Progress
Report can be found at: www.gchd.org/admin/strattoc.htm.
For More Information Contact:
Kurt Koopmann
Public Information Officer
Galveston County Health District
(409) 938-22
11 or 409.392.0007
kkoopman@gchd.org |
