The regular meeting of the Columbus Board of Health was held in the
Administration Conference Room of the Health and Human Services Center on
Wednesday, January 24, 2007, at 1:00 P.M.
MEMBERS PRESENT:
Jim Wetherington, Mayor
Isaiah Hugley, City Manager
James H. Sullivan, M. D.
Mrs. Brenda Dozier
Howard Willis, M. D.
Banks H. Carroll, M. D.
James A. Lawrence, D.D.S.
OTHERS PRESENT:
Zsolt Koppanyi, M. D.
Bill Rumer, Attorney
Ed Saidla
Margaret Gosden
Eileen Albritton
Pam Middleton
LaQuita Rogers
Cheryl Johnson
Judy Thomas, Mayor?s Assistant
Johnny Miller
Eileen Usman
Karon Bush
Sam Cunnington
Dr. Sullivan expressed his appreciation to Mayor Wetherington for his
attendance at the Board Meeting. Dr. Sullivan asked the Board Members to
mention their names whenever they speak so that the new mayor, Mr. Wetherington
will know who they are.
Dr. Sullivan called the meeting to order and asked for a motion to approve the
last three sets of minutes; September, October and November, 2006. A motion was
made by Dr. Willis, seconded by Dr. Carroll and approved by those members
present.
Dr. Sullivan stated there was a total of six Excused Absences over the last
three months. Dr. Sullivan asked for a motion to accept the Excused Absences as
mentioned. A motion was made by Dr. Carroll, seconded by Ms. Dozier and
approved by those members present.
Dr. Sullivan referred to Old Business/Action List. Dr. Sullivan stated that an
Action List is usually kept regarding issues that are concerns to the Board and
to the Community. Dr. Sullivan stated that at the present time, there are no
items listed. Dr. Sullivan referred to the fact that Dr. Brown and
Commissioner Walker were in attendance at the Board Meeting in October, 2006.
Dr. Sullivan stated that Election of Officers was in order at this time. He
asked for a nomination for Chairman of The Board. Dr. Lawrence stated that he
would like to nominate Dr. Sullivan to continue in the position as Chairman of
the Board. Ms. Dozier seconded the nomination and it was approved by the Board
Members that were present. Dr. Sullivan stated that he would accept the
position as Chairman. Dr. Sullivan asked for any nominations for Vice Chairman
of the Board. Dr. Lawrence nominated Dr. Banks Carroll for the Vice Chairman
position. Mr. Hugley seconded the nomination and it was approved by the Board
Members that were present. Dr. Carroll stated that he would accept the position
as Vice Chairman.
Dr. Sullivan stated that the next item is the discussion of the Audit Review
FY06 from the November 22, 2006 meeting. He stated that he and Ms. Dozier
reviewed this audit and could find no objection. Dr. Sullivan stated that he
only had two votes and would need the approval of the other remaining members.
Dr. Sullivan asked for a motion to accept the audit report. A motion was made
by Dr. Lawrence, seconded by Dr. Carroll and approved by those members present.
Dr. Sullivan stated that the next item for approval is the five year audit
contract associated with the fees. Dr. Sullivan stated that this amount goes up
approximately five or six thousand dollars every year. Dr. Willis asked if
there were any competitive firms that had bid on this item. Ms. Gosden stated
that this item had not been put out for bid because previous attempts yielded a
great disparity between bid amounts. The current firm also does the City Audit
which gives the Columbus Board a good tie in with the Federal Single Audit Act.
She stated that it had not been fruitful for the Health Department to place the
audit service in the bid process because bids received back would be $10,000.00
per year or more difference between the responding firms and the current firm.
The main reason for this disparity is learning curve associated with the
complexity and scope of the audit. Ms. Gosden stated that the Board is not
required to bid out professional services such as auditor, physician, attorney
or architect. Dr. Koppanyi stated that when you take on a new firm, it takes
extra time to allow the new firm to get up to speed on the different programs.
Dr. Willis stated that is not contractual, that has to do with who we contract
with. The learning curve has nothing to do with the product and what we
contract for. Dr. Willis stated that for his comfort he would like to see that
the audit was bidded out. Ms. Gosden stated that can certainly be done. Dr.
Willis stated that he thinks the fees presented are excessive. Dr. Lawrence
asked how much is the cost and Dr. Willis stated that the cost goes up every
year. Dr. Lawrence again asked the cost of the contract with Albright and
Fortenberry. Dr. Sullivan stated the amount was $30,000 to $33,000 over a five
year period. Mr. Hugley stated that the Board is not required by the State to
contract out for this service. Ms. Gosden stated that this can be done and she
would be happy to do this. Mr. Hugley asked how much the cost was in the
current term. Dr. Sullivan stated that for 2007, it was $30,150.00. So the
increase would be around $4,000 over a five year period. Dr. Willis asked if
there were any other firms that would be competitive in terms of the ability to
provide the service. Ms. Gosden stated there may be two firms in town
sufficiently large enough to do this. Ms. Gosden stated there was an
interesting experience in a couple of our counties, Schley and Dooly, who
entertained the services of a new auditor because their previous auditor had
taken ill. The process proved to be a nightmare. The two counties had to
request extensions in order to secure the Grant-in-Aid checks against delay.
Ms. Gosden stated that she would be happy to bring these findings to the next
Board Meeting. Dr. Sullivan asked if there would be a charge for giving us a
price for the service. Ms. Gosden stated there would be none. Dr. Willis asked
how much time are the auditors actually used and Ms. Gosden said that they are
here two and a half to three weeks every summer and are on call to us at any
time that we need them. They are utilized any time during the year for
questions. This firm also has about six or seven of our other counties in the
District as well as some of the counties in the LaGrange District. They are
particularly familiar with public health. Mr. Hugley asked what was the total
budget for all of public health? Ms. Gosden stated in excess of $8,000,000;
just public health in Columbus is over $5,000,000 annually. Ms. Gosden stated
that WIC alone is a large program. This is a global fee not only just for the
Columbus Health Department audit but all the other programs that the Board of
Health is responsible for like Ryan White-Title II, Ryan White-Title III,
Family Planning Grant, BioTerrorism. Mr. Hugley stated that the City Budget is
$193.6 million dollars and their cost for Albright and Fortenberry is
$100,000.00 per year. Mrs. Gosden stated that there are several things about
Public Health that are very peculiar in our relationship to the State and our
relationship to Federal Grants. Dr. Willis asked why is a five year contract
needed? Ms. Gosden stated that a better price is obtained that way. Ms. Gosden
stated that if you look at it, it is not a large percent increase. Mr. Hugley
stated that the contract with the City of Columbus and Albright is a five year
agreement and they have had the contract with the City for close to thirty
years and the services are bided out. Dr. Carroll stated that he appreciates
the intent of Dr. Willis and what he wants to do. Dr. Sullivan stated there are
two areas that have the most concern, WIC is one of them and the other is
individuals on the job. Dr. Sullivan asked for a motion to ask for bids for the
audit services. Dr. Willis stated that his intent as a Board Member regarding
the transparency that can be provided gives him protection and gives the Board
protection. Dr. Willis made a motion to ask for bids for the audit services,
Mayor Wetherington seconded the motion and the motion was approved by those
members present.
Dr. Sullivan asked Ms. Gosden for her comments regarding the purchase of Tuff
Book Computers for the Environmental Health staff that work out in the field.
The Environmental Health professional staff needs access to a durable computer
which provides a tie in to the Mitchell and McCormick system to perform their
duties when away from the office. Examples of work outside the office would
include restaurants. Each of the computers individually cost over the limit to
bring to the Board. The total purchase price of $20,610.00. The cost of some of
these computers will be billed back out to the individual counties where the
Environmentalist are stationed but it will be paid centrally and then direct
billed out to individual county. The computers are $3,200.00 each and we would
also purchase the desk top port replicator for $235.00 each. This is an
experiment to see how these units work. We will assess how sturdy and durable
the computers are. We may be returning for an additional purchase later. Dr.
Sullivan asked where is the money coming from. Ms. Gosden stated it would come
out of the Visions monies. Mr. Saidla stated this would also enable use of the
new software required by the State. Ms. Gosden stated that field computers have
never been done for this staff before because of the type work that they do and
the durability they need. We are hoping this Tuff Book will be the item that is
needed. Mr. Saidla stated that Sam Cunningham the EMS Director is using this
same type of computer in doing their ambulance inspections. Dr. Willis asked if
this purchase is done, how long before the system will be up and going and how
long will it take to get some data for us to see how it is going? Mr. Saidla
stated that he hoped to be able to report back as soon as the State provides
the software which should be within the next 90 days. He would hope that before
the end of this fiscal year the Board would be told that this type of service
is working and an additional purchase of 10 more of these computers is
necessary. Ms. Gosden stated that it was decided to start in the rural counties
because of the rugged use in the field locations. These staff persons do not
have clerical support. Dr. Sullivan asked for a motion for the purchase of
these computers. A motion was made by Dr. Willis, seconded by Dr. Lawrence and
approved by those members present.
Dr. Sullivan asked Mr. Saidla to introduce himself and present his request. Mr.
Saidla stated that the Georgia Public Health Association is requesting that
Boards of Health consider becoming a member of GPHA. The Association holds an
annual meeting each year. This years meeting will be held on September 4th
through the 7th in Savannah, Georgia. Dr. Julie Gerberding who is the Director
of the CDC will be the keynote speaker. Also, other GPHA events are hosted
during the year and provide advocacy throughout the State in issues related to
public health. The Columbus Board of Health membership for all members to join
is $245.00. Mr. Saidla asked that the board strongly consider approving this
expenditure so that the Columbus Board of Health can become a member of GPHA.
Dr. Sullivan asked for a motion to approve this expenditure. The motion was
made by Mr. Hugley and seconded by Ms. Dozier and approved by those members
present.
Dr. Sullivan asked Dr. Koppanyi for the Director Report. Dr. Koppanyi reported
on the very successful Men?s and Women?s Health Fair on January 20th of this
year at the Columbus Convention and Trade Center. There were 1,600 people
screened. The health department provided 46% of the services rendered and the
health department?s staff was present from 8AM until 4PM. Vouchers were offered
for rebates for flu shots and exams thru Breastest and More and PSA testing for
cancer screening. We had a very successful instant screening for HIV. There
were screenings for oral cancer and skin cancer, prostate cancer, glucose and
cholesterol testing and osteoporosis. The Safe Kids Coalition recently held an
event at Wal Mart with around 500 children in attendance for helmet fitting and
car seat distribution. The Legislature is still in session and we are not sure
of any outcomes.
Dr. Koppanyi introduced the staff members that were present. Dr. Sullivan
explained to Mayor Wetherington that there are 16 counties in the District. The
Columbus Board is responsible for the 16 counties. If the counties in our
District have a short fall, the Columbus Board is responsible to make up the
difference.
Dr. Sullivan called on Pam Middleton to present the financial report to the
Board.
Ms. Gosden stated that when you look at the income portion of the report, you
will note that the various fee income i.e., Medicare, Medicaid, Medicaid
Sources, contain some zeros over the past months. The good news is that after
this report when to press, in fact yesterday, a check was received from Well
care for over $20,000.00. Reimbursement from PeachState has still not been
received; is for Medicaid clients that were seen as far back as June, 2006.
There was a meeting with the PeachState representatives several weeks ago and
they assured us that they are moving to get our reimbursements to us. All of
the claims have been submitted from the 16 counties where centralized billing
is used. The small counties do not have the ability to do all of that billing
and so now we wait to see if it will be paid, reject or need to be corrected.
Medicaid income in this District is $1.5 million dollars which is an important
source of funding especially for the small counties. The Medical Center is
having the same problem and the situation is not unique. Ms. Gosden stated that
she would be glad to answer any questions.
Dr. Sullivan asked Ms. Eileen Usman, Epidemiologist to present the program
(Pandemic Flu) to the Board.
Dr. Sullivan asked if there was any other business to discuss. There being
none, the meeting was adjourned.
Respectfully submitted:
_______________________________
Pam Middleton, Secretary
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