HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-12-2023 Joint BoH Meeting
1
October 13, 2023
IREDELL COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
RECOVENED MEETING From October 3, 2023
October 12, 2023
The Iredell County Board of Commissioners held a joint meeting with the Iredell County
Board of Health on Thursday, October 12, 2023 at 6:00 PM, at the Iredell County Health
Department, 318 Turnersburg Highway, Statesville.
Board Members Present
Chair Melissa Neader
Vice Chair Bert Connolly
Commissioner Scottie Brown
Commissioner Gene Houpe
Commissioner Brad Stroud, Sr.
Staff present: County Manager Beth Mull, Deputy County Manager Susan Robertson,
County Attorney Lisa Valdez, and Clerk to the Board Amy Anderson
Chair Neader reconvened the October 3, 2023 meeting.
Commissioner Stroud led the invocation.
Health Director Jane Hinson welcomed everyone and introduced Public Information
Officer Sierra Ashworth. She highlighted the one-page Annual Report provided and noted this
document highlights program successes when staff go above and beyond the norm. She said Kelly
Readling received the Firestarter Award and the 2022 Employee of the Year was Lisary Martinez.
Ashworth also noted awards that the Health Department received, the 2022 Health Department of
the Year Award and the United Way Spirit of NC Award.
Hinson presented the Executive Division Report, which includes Human Resources. The
department has 112 Full-Time Employees, which includes two positions that are funded by the
Opioid Settlement funding. In the past fiscal year there were 14 voluntary resignations, of which
seven went to another county department or another government agency, and six retired. Hinson
also discussed the various audits the divisons go through. . The audits have never resulted in any
findings. Hinson said there were four leadership retirements in the last fiscal year, and the
department has worked diligently to have succession planning in place. Hinson said the Public
Health Accreditation will take place in October 2024 and will include the last six years instead of
four as it was pushed back because of Covid. During the last accreditation, in 2018, the department
scored a 100 and was accredited with honors.
Finance and Operations Director Jessica Ridgway said that during the 2022-2023 fiscal
year there was a restructure of Finance & Operations which involved moving the clerical support
staff from Clinical Services to Finance & Operations. This restructure combines the entire revenue
cycle together under one Director to help improve communications. Additionally, with the
retirement of Norma Rife, that position was downgraded and reclassified to the Operations
Coordinator position which is responsible for agency Accreditation, Strategic Planning and
Workforce Development. Ridgway touched on billing and claims and said that the department has
a clean claim rate of 93%. This means that for all of the claims submitted the department has
2
October 13, 2023
received payment for 93% of its claims at the first submission. Ridgway said during the CureMD
conference the department received an award for having the best clean claim rate out of 220 Health
Departments. She also shared additional metrics about claims and noted that percentages have
decreased, which is positive. She reminded the members that last year both the Board of Health
and Board of Commissioners approved a Tobacco Free Campus policy for all three of the
department’s locations which was mandated by Medicaid and is a great step towards a healthy
workforce. Ridgway shared that the American Rescue Plan Action (ARPA) grant was used to
create recruitment videos.
Environmental Health Division Director Brady Freeman discussed recruitment and
retention. After the pandemic, all counties in the State was experiencing a decrease in applications.
A North Carolina Recruitment and Retention workgroup was established and sponsored by the NC
Local Health Director’s Association and the NC Environmental Health Supervisor’s Association.
Freeman was part of this committee. One of the accomplishments of the committee is Session Law
2023-35 which eases the educational requirements to qualify to be an Environmental Health
Specialist. Freeman shared the Environmental Health recruitment video and explained that the
Environmental Health team has attended college job fairs at Western Carolina University and
Catawba College. As of today there are no vacancies in Environmental Health.
Director of Nursing and Clinical Services Shannon Thompson, said the Nursing and
Clinical Services Division has had 52,559 client contacts. There have been four program audits
with no findings. Thompson said the department has seven Sexually Transmitted Disease enhanced
role nurses, three Child Health enhanced role nurses and four certified Case Managers. The
Nursing division is almost fully staffed with just one Public Health Nursing II opening. Thompson
played the Public Health Nursing recruitment video.
Thompson reported that five staff members are certified as National Car Seat Passenger
Safety Inspectors. The department has issued 76 car seats to pre-natal clients. She then gave an
update on the vaccination clinics, 110 meningitis vaccines have been administered at local High
Schools and 244 vaccinations at the detention center. The department held a Full-Scale Shelter
exercise on September 22 that involved many staff as well as outside agencies.
Thompson also provided information about Covid, noting that 25,923 vaccines were
administered and over 40,000 home test kits were distributed. Women Infants & Children (WIC)
program has distributed 420 ApSeed tablets to clients. The Health Promotions team has attended
over 50 Community outreach events including partnering with NC Med-Assist and providing over
700 low-income residents in Mooresville with free over-the-counter medications. Thompson also
provided an update on the Mobile Health Unit which is expected in May 2024. The department
will use the Mobile Health Unit to provide services to marginalized populations within the
community.
Hinson expressed appreciation to County Manager Beth Mull and Deputy County Manager
Susan Robertson for their support over the last three years.
Mull thanked staff for the informative reports and information.
3
October 13, 2023
ADJOURNMENT
MOTION by Commissioner Stroud to adjourn at 6:55pm. (The next meeting will be
Tuesday, October 17, 2023, 6:00 PM, in the Commissioners’ Meeting Room, Pre-Agenda Meeting
at 4:00PM, Government Center, 200 South Center Street, Statesville, NC)
__________________________________ ___________________________________
Date Approved Amy B. Anderson, Clerk