By Kristin Dudley
The Livingston County Health Center Board of Trustees regular meeting was held Nov. 26 at noon and at the top of the agenda was the swearing in of the newly appointed Board of Trustees member, Catherine Hamilton. County Commissioner Ed Douglas passed it on to chairman of the Trustees, Sonja Daley, that the County was pleased with the process and despite having several applicants, found Hamilton to be the best fit to fill the vacancy left open due to the absence and passing of former Trustee, Dr. Christopher Hulett. Hamilton comes to the board as an administrator at Hedrick Medical Center in Chillicothe and Wright Memorial Hospital in Trenton. Hamilton was officially appointed to the board on Nov. 5, 2024 and Public Notary Cathy Ripley performed the swearing in ceremony.
Following Hamilton’s swearing in, the board approved the last board meeting’s minutes and discussed the current budget. Both were approved by the Trustees with no discussion. Trustees Doug Doughty, Clayton Vadnais, Darlene Hughes and Daley were all in attendance.
Regarding old business, Sherry Weldon, administrator of the Livingston County Health Center, gave a report on communicable disease as of current. She stated that there was not much to report countywide and there had been three cases of COVID, two cases of strep, and two cases of influenza A being reported. Gastrointestinal illnesses had been on the uprising but seemed to have tapered off. They did acknowledge that an 8-year-old female in the county currently has whooping cough. The case is being investigated because she was fully immunized. She is currently out of school starting at 21 days from the first coughing.
Doughty brought up the current topic of concern about a sense of urgency with the bird flu. According to his own research, he had noticed that raw milk in California had been a root cause of the bird flu as well as across other dairies in California. He asked if there should be any urgency regarding this potential illness or the possibility of a pandemic. Weldon reassured the board that it is not a concern in this area and that anyone who has had bird flu in other areas has had mild symptoms. She also acknowledged that anyone who has gotten the bird flu seems to have got it through an animal source and said it would be more of a concern to the area if it were being passed from human to human.
The board also heard updates about the center’s furnace and air conditioning units. Weldon said that the old units need to be removed and two air conditioning units must be completed. Those are anticipated to start next week and the process has been started and is on its way to completion.
Another item of old business was a front door that would be purchased utilizing funds from a COVID-related grant. It was a grant that was changed in the middle of the usage throughout the health centers and it could not be utilized for renovations. Prior renovations had been completed with that grant money but the front door was one that was still in the works that would not be included in the reimbursement schedule. The board had decided the door still needed to be replaced due to age and functionality. Multiple options were evaluated and contractors have said that some of the options for the current doorway would not work and still keep the door up to code.
While Weldon has been trying to get contractors to come out and evaluate it and offer a solid solution, she said no one seemed to want to take a look at it to help out. After finally finding someone who would help, it was determined a surface mount would be a more economical and effective method that would keep it at code. The cost of door was estimated to be $17,000 and while the state was going to reimburse the cost, they will not. Some drywall and other repairs will need to be made. While the center is in a waiting hold to get the door replaced, Weldon is optimistic that staying on top of the project so they aren’t in the middle of the winter with a door that gets stuck would be beneficial to the staff and community members. Weldon said she’d hoped that they could get it paid for by the end of the month but that the specific surface mount would even take six weeks to produce.
The next item up for discussion was the incinerator that the Livingston County Health Center would be helping contribute to. The City of Chillicothe, the county coroner, the county Commission, the Chillicothe Police Department and other entities were going to collaborate to build an incinerator at the fire practice training center. After research, it was discovered that it required a concrete slab and then multiple agencies would have to approve the progress and the board would use grant money to help with the funding. It was discovered that the incinerators are no longer covered and the health center had to decide that there wouldn’t be any assistance they could provide after all. It was also determined by other county organizations that the amount that would have to be paid annually to utilize it would not make it a cost effective solution due to the numerous permits which would be an ongoing cost and was not justifiable.
Since the incinerator is off the table, the Livingston County Health Department has $11,000 in extra grant money which may be used to go to pay for laptops or something else. There were options to possibly buy gloves, sanitation items, a sprayer that sprays in the door, and other infectious disease prevention type items. Since the department already has plenty of those items, they determined that expense was not necessary to use the extra funding on. Weldon said that she did say she put in for $59,000-60,000 in salaries that she’s awaiting approval on. It is money for staffing different public events that would actually just come back to the health department which could be banked and then used for personnel as needed and it would not be part of the county budget.
There was also discussion about UV systems that would help combat COVID. Weldon said they were expensive and that they were in place at the center. Because of how the UV system worked by attaching to a furnace, after COVID died down, the systems were removed. This is because with five furnaces and the UV systems being connected to each one, the electric bills for the county health center were skyrocketing. Additionally, it was undeterminable if it actually worked. They will not be replaced.
There was also discussion about hazardous materials and whether or not the department had a contract out on it. Any hazardous sharp points are picked up by a third-party company who then bills the county volume. There is no contract in place.
Officer elections also took place as a part of new business. The Trustees introduced themselves to Hamilton and each was given a timeframe to speak. Hamilton introduced herself as a registered nurse since 1991. She has worked not only as a hospital administrator but in critical care and home care. She said she had done less bedside care and worked more on the administrative side.
“I’m really happy to be a part of your board,” Hamilton said. “It’s good to be engaged just in this manner and since being in the business, I can help with and improve processes through. I’m really happy to be a part of your board. “
The election of new officers generally occurs after the April election in the month of May but due to the absence of Hulett, the officers stood as they were as the board could not agree to move to do anything different.
During the election of officers, Daley nominated Vadnais as the chairperson for the board.
“I’ve been privileged to serve as the chairperson and now it’s time to rotate that position to someone else,” Daley said. Doughty had been the chairperson in years prior and had his turn as chair and Hughes was not interested in being the chair. Hughes then nominated Doughty for the chairperson office. After discussion, the board offered the position to Hamilton if she was interested.
“I’m here and I’m not elected. I’ve been appointed so I’m not sure what my term will say,” Hamilton said. Daley read the bylaws and according to them, there is to be an election of officers annually in May which includes the roles of Chairman, Vice Chair, Secretary and the Treasurer. The next round of officer elections will follow schedule and come up in May 2025 so this term would be shorter than normal.
This is due to the board coming up in a tie vote of two versus two so there was no election and no progress. It then stayed the same. Doughty did withdraw from the resignation when they discussed that Hamilton could fill the spot.
“I’m new and I won’t sit here and say, ‘Here.. I want this,” Hamilton said. “I don’t want to make waves and hurt feelings.”
Hamilton was reassured that she would catch on to the Roberts Rules of Order that the board rigidly follows would be easy to utilize after some time. Doughty said he felt like it would be a fresh start to have Hamilton as the chairhead after having so much internal conflict, often finding themselves in a deadlock vote without the ability to make progression.
Daley said, “You’re just as equal and as important as any of the members.”
After a roll call vote, Hamilton was voted on to take the role of chairperson with an unanimous passing vote of 5-0. Hamilton will take on the role of chair at the next meeting.
After nominating Hamilton, Vadnais nominated himself as the Vice Chairperson and Daley seconded the motion. Hamilton, Daley and Vadnais agreed with the nomination while Doughty and Hughes were against it. The motion carried for Vadnais to begin as Vice Chair at the next meeting. Vadnais then nominated Daley as the secretary of the board. Daley seconded the motion for herself. Hamilton, Vadnais, and Daley all voted in favor and Hughes and Doughty voted in opposition. For the position of treasurer, Doughty then nominated Hughes. Hughes abstained from the vote while other Trustees voted to accept the nomination.
Following that order of new business, Weldon showed the board a draft of the 2025 budget that would be presented to the county clerk for approval. It is a basic draft that Weldon said she had padded so that she would be able to stay under budget rather than potentially go over it. The board looked at the possible revenues and expenditures which are estimated as well as any contracts that were signed in conjunction with the state and the impact that would have on the budget.
The health department will start receiving some of the tax money from the county levy that is a portion of the revenue and it would start to trickle in during the month of December. The budget accounts for any Medicaid or Medicare reimbursements, money for flu shots and other reimbursements. Salary and retirement as well as health savings accounts for staff members is also accounted for in the budget as well as all staff incentives which are distributed because of the number of years each staff member has worked at the department.
The budget also takes into account any medical supplies which right now the county does not need because grant money has helped to furnish those items. Unfortunately, most grants were hooked to COVID in some form so they are not available any longer for the county to use. By looking at the draft, there is a $400,000 difference in revenue in comparison of 2022 to the projected 2025 year.
“It’ll change with the actuals,” Weldon said. “I overestimated so there wouldn’t be as many problems. Otherwise, we would have to get approval from the county.”
The board also anticipates looking at the financial standpoint of utilizing CDs in the near future. There is a large balance as of right now but after tax money starts to roll in, the board will look at reevaluating them. Future projects would not have the cushioning that the COVID-related grants had provided for some of the expenses.
The board also discussed the current two-year-old generator at the department site. After Vadnais made a motion to approve the quote and seconded by Daughty, they voted unanimously to approve an annual maintenance fee in the amount of $1154 for the next three years.
It was discussed that due to time at the end of the meeting that bylaws would not be worked on further and that updated copies would be distributed to Trustee Hamilton.
Weldon also wanted to make a note that there has been progress made on a plaque honoring the late Dr. Hulett as a Trustee and contributor to the board. Hulett died the day of the last Board of Trustees meeting but members found out later after the meeting. Daley publicly offered her condolences to the family of Hulett.
The floor was then opened for public comment. One commenter welcomed Hamilton to the board and discussed freedom being more important than safety.
Then the floor was open for Trustee comments.
Doughty acknowledged the staff that has been working on electronic medical records, autism resource fair and it hosted 50 plus people, discussed that the WIC program is up 12% from the start of 2024, stated that flu shots were given at schools and that many boosters and shots were given to adults too. He also applauded the staff for the awareness provided on social media to provide education to the community as well as all of the other events of November. Hughes took a minute to praise administrator Weldon and the other staff members who had been persevering since COVID.
“We’ve been here to support and encourage everyone,” Hughes said.
Daley gave thanks to community members who are able to make the meetings and expressed appreciation for when the public is involved. She said that since she would be transitioning to a new role, she was ‘thankful for the opportunity to serve as chairperson.’ She also encouraged the rest of the board to get out and stay involved in the community because the future of the community depended on their mentorship.
Vadnais thanked the public and was also thankful for the staff. He also expressed gratitude for Hamilton for stepping up to fill the role on the board.
Hamilton had her first turn as a board commenter and said that she appreciated the warm welcome and was looking forward to being able to participate.
“I have hopes we’ll move forward in a positive manner. We’re a unique location. Rural but have a little bit of city here with us,” Hamilton said. “We have quite an opportunity to be successful in all that we do so I look forward to doing that all with you.”
