By CHARLOTTE SANDERS

Senior Writer

WILLIAMSON – The need for sufficient nursing personnel to handle immunizations of Mingo County school children and others for seasonal flu and H1N1 flu was discussed Thursday by the Mingo County Board of Health.

Board Chairman Gregory K. Smith and Health Department Administrator Cathy Headen say it may become necessary to seek volunteer and/or contract nurses to help handle the immunizations.

Headen submitted five applications for a Nurse I position for the board’s consideration. It is anticipated that the department’s interview committee will set a date to conduct interviews of the applicants.

In addition to Smith, board members present were Vice-Chairperson Dr. Diana Shafer, Franklin Cisco and Albert Totten, and the county health officer, Dr. Manolo D. Tampoya.

The board also discussed the matter of hiring a contract nurse practitioner during an executive session and ended up tabling he matter in regular session. Three persons are interested in the position.

The board gave Headen authority to deal with immunizations and other matters pertaining to them. With the necessity of giving H1N1 vaccinations to county school children twice within a three-week period period, it is urgent that qualified nursing personnel be available.

Tina Lockard, of the Mingo County Commission’s Finance Department, gave a verbal financial upgrade of the health department. The year-to-date revenue totals $;65,280.08, while year-to-date expenditures amount to $58,932.23. The bank balance of the department as of Thursday was $71,059.76.

The board’s next meeting will be held on Oct. 8 at 12 noon rather than on the third Thursday of the month. The board’s meeting minutes of Aug. 20 was approved along with the Safety Committee’s report.

Grant updates for Family Planning, the Breast Cancer and Cervical Screeing program and HIV for August 2009 showed the following:

Family Planning – billing, $2,537.50; received $4,226.75 plus cash, $206.50; BCCSP – billing, $474.56; received, cash, $196;01; and HIV – billing $600; received $180.

Total visits per program included: HIV, 7; Family Planning, 50; BCCSP, 6; Private pay, 0, and other, 14.

Chairman Smith confirmed by letter arrangements that have been made by Kristan Homa, Consol Energy, and Cathy Headen, health department adminisrator, for a flu vaccination clinic to be held at the Consol Energy office on West Third Avenue.

The local health department will provide a nurse and clinical staff from 8 to 10 a.m. and 3 to 6 p.m. on a date to be determined, to provide flu vaccinations for Consol’s employees. The cost for this clinic will be $35 per vaccination with a minimum of $700.

Board members received copies of a letter written to the health department by Judy Sanger, HIPAA Privacy official with Williamson Memorial Hospital, with regard to amending the hospital’s Business Associate Agreement with the Mingo County Health Department.

The WMH received a new regulatory challenge from the Federal Trade Commission, requiring the hospital to establish and administer an Identity Theft Prevention Program for its facilities. This is designed to detect, prevent and mitigate identity theft in connection with the protected health information contained in the hospital’s patient accounts and medical records.

The Red Flag Rule Amendment to Business Associate Agreement was sent to the health department for officials’ review and signature.

The board discussed general business and reviewed its expenditure report for the period, July 10 to Aug. 9 of the 2008-2009 grant year, showing the health department with a grant balance of $3,854.13. The approved budget for the year showed $45,172 in grant approval, and grant funds received and spent in the year to date in the amount of $41,317.87.

The board also reviewed the H1N1 Public Health Emergency Response (PHER) Grant Guidance provided by the Bureau for Public Health Center for Threat Preparedness, West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources.

The PHER grant is aimed at rapidly advancing state and local readiness for response to H1N1 this fall and to support actual implementation of a mass vaccination campaign and associated activities (PHER implementation).

Headen received proposals for funding from Stanley B. Mills, showing a total of $104,601.33 proposed for the Mingo County Health Department. Phase 1 funding is set at $22,747.41, and Phase 2 would be funded $2,316.23.

Those amounts include $15,000 base funding for phase 1, $1,500 base funding for Phase 2, and $50,000 base funding for PHER. The base funding would apply to the first 20,000 population in the county and a per capita for the amount over the base in PHER.