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SALEM – Grant funding has fallen through for the health department's in-house medical clinic.
Health Commissioner Alanna Hughes announced that the department had not received the AARP grant it had been pursuing to fund an in-house medical clinic in room 106. She said that the department "will not have a wellness clinic as large as we would have liked to," and as a result the department will no longer need to lease the adjacent room, nor will they need to adjust the department budget's line items as discussed in the board's April meeting. She also said that the department will be pursuing further funding sources at a later date.
In her report Hughes also said that the department had great success with its tent at this year's Super Cruise, noting they had met and been able to address the medical needs of a resident and connect them with a new physician. Hughes was overjoyed to have been able to make a direct connection with and assist the resident, noting she considered the department's presence at the cruise to be a complete success as a result.
"Someone came up to us, talked to us about their situation, we suggested that rather than stand there and discuss it she come to the office, and she did last week. We set up her and her partner up with Warren City for testing, they needed a doctor, we set them up with a doctor's appointment for someone taking new patients, mental health, the gamut. It gives me goosebumps to know we reached one person, and that's all it takes is one person, so the super cruise for us was a success," said Hughes.
Hughes also announced the department will be receiving its Registered Food Establishments Audit for the first time since 2018 on Aug. 14. She said that as it had been so long since the department had been audited, it had received a letter outlining requirements for the survey. She said that she was presenting the matter to the board as it would need to take action to implement newly required resolutions in its next meeting including a resolution granting the health commissioner authority to suspend a license in the event of an emergency, and a resolution outlining who may initiate action pursuant to Ohio Revise Code 3717.29 legal notices leading to license action.
In Environmental Health Director Alan Masters' report, which was presented by Hughes, it was reported that the air quality readings the first day of the cruise were reading significantly higher than standard as a byproduct of the recent Canadian wildfires, and that warnings for those with breathing conditions had been issued by the Ohio Department of Health. However, these levels returned to normal the following day.
Mayor Cyndi Baronzzi Dickey suggested the city's Text My Gov line as a potential avenue to issue warnings and advice to residents for similar occurrences moving forward, and urged any residents not already signed up for the text line to do so.
Masters' report also discussed recent cases of anti-freeze poisoning in the city, including one cat which Hughes noted was recovering well. Hughes said that the department and the humane society were collaborating with the Columbiana County Humane Society to address the matter as well as any other animal related matters such as nuisance animal or bite reports. Hughes said that the departments had developed a strong rapport and were collaborating well.
City Housing Inspector Sal Salvino said in his report he was on track to meet the department's goal of completing 10% of all pending inspections by the end of the year. Dickey said the department currently had 2,129 inspections backlogged because of the multi-year pause during the pandemic when interior inspections were not conducted. As a result, 10% of all pending inspections represents roughly 220 in total. Salvino also noted that with additional help he could accelerate the rate at which inspections could be conducted.
Hughes said the department is still searching for a part-time housing code enforcer, and that the department had received one application from their Facebook listing thus far. She said that if they did not receive further interest within the week, they would be expanding the posting to Indeed.
The health board will meet next at 2 p.m. July 19.