Henry County Board of Health reviews department’s services

MT. PLEASANT - Henry County Public Health Director Shelley Van Dorin gave an overview of all services provided by the county public health department at a Board of Health work session on Thursday afternoon.

Van Dorin explained the meeting was spurred by a phone call her department received from the county auditor's office a month prior, asking about which programs or employees the department would be comfortable letting go of in the next fiscal year. Following discussion of the phone call, the Board of Health decided to call a work session to better understand every service provided by the department and plans to present a case to the county for why the services are necessary.

Board member Greg Moeller, who also currently serves as a county supervisor, said the supervisors often look at 'finances [as] … the bottom line.”

'I think we have a disconnect between all the services that are provided by Henry County Public Health and what the Board of Supervisors understand or believe are all offered,” Moeller said.

Moeller dispelled the notion that Van Dorin would be required to let go of staff while working through a pandemic and encouraged the Board of Health to approach the supervisors as the county begins its budget process for the following fiscal year.

'This would be a distinct budgetary time that those definitive differences need to be pointed out as to why Henry County Board of Health supports [those services],” he said.

Board president added

Van Dorin explained the department leads various programs, some funded through grants. Those programs include the adult health maintenance program and a homemaker program which provides assistance to elderly residents on daily activities and allows those residents to stay in their homes.

The department also provides psychotropic injections, tuberculosis testing and monitoring, newborn home visits, a maternal and child health program, immunization clinics and disease investigation.

Van Dorin said with COVID-19, disease investigation has completely taken over her department but with recent part-time hires, the workload and the mood of her staff has 'really lightened.”

The department hired a contact-tracer and a nurse within the last month to help monitor and work on coronavirus cases.

'In the month of September, we had 522 cases,” she said.

Additionally, the department will be charged with distributing a vaccine when one becomes available.

As Van Dorin went over the programs her department leads, she explained that public health is a 'community service rather than a revenue stream.”

'Really public health is not much of a revenue stream. Public health is not going to make you money,” she added.

Following Van Dorin's presentation, board members agreed they would continue discussion on how to explain the importance of public health to the Board of Supervisors. Moeller again encouraged all board members to meet with the supervisors to discuss the budget of the department.