LWVSJ Observer Corps | Board of Health April 16, 2025

||| FROM NECIA QUAST for LEAGUE OF WOMAN VOTERS |||

The CEO search process is underway at the Accountable Communities of Health. The Community Collaboration Committee (CCC) awarded a $16k grant to the SJI Food Bank, $6k for 2025 and $10k for 2026; the CCC hopes to provide further support from its Community Benefit Fund. The North Sound Behavioral Health Organization continues its battle to stop the state claw back or at least redirect Medicaid reserve funds. The Board appointed Kari McVeigh as its representative to the CCC.

Kristin Rezabek of the county health department briefed the board on the county’s oral health and community dental programs. Our county has low numbers of people with Apple Health able to access dental services. Using a combination of grants, private funding and local resources, community dental clinics and school-based clinics have served over 258 residents in 2024, but the waitlist is 879. Most of those have no dental insurance at all, though 44% have Apple health. Schoolchildren are getting fluoride and tooth sealants as well as tooth cleaning and oral hygiene lessons. On San Juan, SJI Dental offers clinic facilities and staff four times per year. On Orcas the Public Health District has built and equipped a dental clinic and on Lopez a mobile dental van will visit 1-2 times per month from Anacortes. Other rural communities in the state are looking at our model.

The County Health Emergency Preparedness and Communications team introduced themselves and their work to the board. They are working a Continuity of Operations plan focused on to ensure the county can provide essential services in a an emergency, and prioritizing key functions, They are developing a toolkit to support the work life /balance and mental health of emergency responders. They described their work on a plan for a possible measles outbreak, noting that federal systems for tracking epidemics and supporting response have stopped functioning. Local childhood vaccination rates fell during Covid and we are still working to get them raised. They are pretty good among children attending school.

Mark Tompkins reviewed the county’s 2025 Health Rankings and Roadmap noting that in several measures we were top in the state. The federal government funded and collected the data for the report but will stop doing it going forward. The county will rely on the local Community Health Assessment to develop the Community Health Improvement plan.

Board members asked to hear about food security issues at a future meeting. Housing issues and possibly behavioral health will be discussed in May.

The League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan organization encourages informed participation in government. The Observer Corps attends and takes notes at government meetings to expand public understanding of public policy and decisions. The notes do not necessarily reflect the views of the League or its members.