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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 11-18-2008 - 4dORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: November 18, 2008 Action Agenda Item No. -~=-~- SUBJECT: Orange County Preparedness Agreement with Person County Health Department DEPARTMENT: Health PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: Services Agreement with Person County Rosemary Summers, 245-2411 PURPOSE: To execute an agreement with Person County Health Department for the provision of public health preparedness services for Orange County. BACKGROUND: Since 2002 the State of North Carolina has received federal funds from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to ensure North Carolina is prepared in the event of a public health emergency. Each year an amount is allocated to each local health department to meet deliverables as required by the federal and state government to ensure local health departments and counties are prepared in the event of a local or state public health emergency. Orange County has employed afull-time public health preparedness coordinator (Public Health Nurse II) since 2003. There have been sufficient state and/or federal funds available to support afull-time position. Beginning in FY2007-2008, as federal funds were not allocated at previous levels to the CDC, there was a corresponding reduction in funds to the state and in turn the state began passing along those reductions to the local level. In addition, supplemental funding such as the pandemic flu supplements are no longer available for the local level. In FY 2007-2008, the staff member serving as the Preparedness Coordinator for the Health Department received a promotion internally. After three unsuccessful attempts to recruit, the position was filled on July 1, 2008 with an internal transfer of a public health nurse that was available due to a reduction-in-force from the loss of grant funds for the Help 4 Kids Project (Smart Start funding). This nurse recently resigned to accept another position leaving the position vacant again. The current allocation from the state of $51,836 annually is not sufficient to support the salary and benefits of a full-time Public Health Nurse II position. The requirements this position fulfills are mandated through the agreement addenda between the NC Division of Public Health and the Health Department. The health director made inquiries to several geographically contiguous counties to determine whether there was interest or need for a shared position in the public health preparedness area to fulfill the local requirements. The Person County recently approved afull-time Public Health Nurse III position funded in part by its allocation of preparedness funds and through its additional Aid to County funds. Person County Health Department is interested in an agreement between the two counties that would allow for a single person to accomplish most of the deliverables required by the State. This would also enable efficiencies in planning and executing training and required drills and exercises. Upon mutual agreement, Person County would hire and supervise the position authorized at a higher level than the current Orange County position. The person in this position is estimated to spend at least 2 to 2 1/2 days per week on-site in Orange County at the Health Department and will perform additional duties as needed to fulfill the responsibilities outlined in the agreement. The agreement would begin on December 1, 2008 for the remainder of this fiscal year and would be renewable thereafter on an annual basis if mutually agreeable and upon evaluation of completion of agreement deliverables. There are several counties in the state that have successfully developed such shared arrangements between counties for the preparedness area. This arrangement also allows Orange County to live within the allocation provided by the state and still meet its obligations. The vacant FTE at the Orange County Health Department will be re-used with additional recurring state funding obtained this year to enable critical immunization and refugee health needs to be met. FINANCIAL IMPACT: The amount of the agreement for the remainder of this fiscal year is $24,000 which is a pro-rated portion of the annual allocation of $51,836 from the state. These funds will be moved from personnel services to the professional contract line in the Health Department budget. No additional County funds will be allocated for this agreement. RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends the Board approve the agreement and authorize the Chair to sign. OCHD Preparedness Agreement With Person County HD FY 08-09 NORTH CAROLINA ORANGE COUNTY SERVICES AGREEMENT BETWEEN ORANGE COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT AND PERSON COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT FOR PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS THIS AGREEMENT, is made and entered into this 18th day of November, 2008 by and between Orange County Health Department, a unit of Orange County Government, North Carolina (the "County") party of the first part; and Person County Health Department (the "Provider"), party of the second part; WITNESSETH: For the purpose and subject to the terms and conditions hereinafter set forth, the County hereby contracts for the services of the Provider, and the Provider agrees to provide the services to the County in accordance with the terms of this Agreement. I. TERM: This agreement will be in effect beginning December 1, 2008 through June 30, 2009 and shall be renewable annually on a fiscal year basis, thereafter upon written notice executed by both parties. II. MAXIMUM AMOUNT PAYABLE The Maximum Amount payable to Provider under this Agreement shall be $24,000. III. SERVICES The intent of this agreement is to allow for shared resources between Person County and Orange County in order that both counties can complete the required deliverables as stated in the Preparedness Agreement Addendum 514 (AA514) with the North Carolina Division of Public Health. These requirements may vary year to year as the federal program changes. Updates will be distributed by the Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response (PHP & R) at the Division of Public Health. "Preparedness Coordinator (PC)" refers to an individual identified who is the person responsible for fulfilling the planning processes and writing the plans as required by the AA514. I IIC rICUdICUIICJJ I~VVIUIIICILVI JIICIII CIIJUIC IIIQI. 1. Each county has an all-hazards plan for Public Health which includes the identification of populations with special needs by May 31, 2009. This plan should address how individuals within these populations will be identified in a database for emergency preparedness. Appendices to county plans will serve to fulfill this requirement. Page 1 of 7 OCHD Preparedness .Agreement With Person County HD FY 08-09 2. Develop and implement mutual aid agreements, as needed, to support NIMS com liant ublic health res onse e. ., local, re Tonal . 3. If there is an airborne infection isolation room (All) operated by the local health department, contact the PHRST to have the room evaluated at least annually to assess room ventilation and other All room parameters for compliance with the CDC's "Guidelines for Preventing the Transmission of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis in Health-Care Settin s, 2005". 4. Use and maintain an incident management system for local event and response activities (e.g., WebEOC, EM 2000). Where possible this should be coordinated and performed in conjunction with local emergency management and should be able to communicate with states stems i.e., WebEOC . 5. Develop and implement health and safety plans for public health responders to include (at a minimum) guidelines for personal protective equipment (PPE), ro h taxis, mental health and ersonal safet . 6. Develop and implement a community containment policy, in accordance with the andemic influenza Ian, b Ma 31, 2009. 7. Maintain current and updated 24/7/365 contact information for each Local Health Department. This information should include telephone numbers, pagers, and other information needed to alert the LHD to critical events and/or recommend needed emer enc res onses. 8. Conduct a minimum of two (2) exercises by May 31, 2009. It is anticipated that local public health will conduct or participate in numerous exercises during the grant year. Local health departments (LHDs) are, at a minimum, required to exercise the following components of their planning activities: • Exercise some aspect of your Quarantine and Isolation policy • Exercise some aspect of your Communications Plan • Exercise SNS Ian 9. Conduct or participate significantly in a full-scale SNS exercise by May 31, 2009 (next grant year). This requirement has been fulfilled by both counties as of 11 /1 /2008. 10. Develop and implement a corrective action plan with 60 days after each drill or exercise based on recommendations from our After Action Re ort 11. Continue to implement the Division of Public health's National Incident Management System (NIMS) Workforce Training program. Maintain an updated database of trained. individuals within each health department. Report the aggregate number of individuals trained both newt trained and total trained uarterl . 12. Develop and/or maintain an OSHA compliant respiratory protection program as offered by the PHRST by May 31, 2009. Coordinate and schedule annual fit testing. Staff participating in the program should at a minimum include environmental health staff, EPI Team staff, clinical staff, risk manager, and the public health preparedness coordinator. 13. Develop, implement and exercise a telecommunication plan to encompass the use the NC Medical Communications Network (NCMCN) in accordance with the PHP&R Telecommunication Plan. This plan will list the different types of communications that the counties have to communicate with the Regions and the State. It will include the t e of communication and who will be usin it. Page 2 of 7 OCHD Preparedness Agreement With Person County HD FY 08-09 14. Maintain radio equipment (both Pack Radios as well as 800 megaherz) as assigned to each health department to communicate with Local, Regional, and State emergency communication networks. Coordinate radio checks, training, maintenance and upkeep of Pack radios with PHRST 4. Follow the guidelines in the NC Office of Emergency Medical Service "Dial Code" (http://facility- service.state.nc.us/EMS/technolg.shtml). LHDs will maintain the current template of fre uencies assi ned to radios, includin the Pack Radio . 15. Update county SNS plan in accordance with most current CDC guidance and incorporate all elements of the SNS local assessment tool. All LHDs MUST have an SNS plan. The most current version of the CDC SNS planning guidance is Version 10.02. 16. Provide an updated electronic copy of the SNS plan to PHP&R. This plan must have a "last updated date" within six (6) months to be considered up-to-date. Plans shall include the location and contact name and phone number of the local receiving node and points of dispensing, address all elements of the most current SNS local assessment checklist, and any pertinent MOAs or MOUs. Each county shall also submit an electronic copy of their checklist scored and with page numbers of each item. 17. As part of the overall exercise requirements, SNS plans must be exercised annually. You may exercise a portion of or the entire SNS plan. To count as the yearly SNS exercise, counties must exercise either the entire plan or a different portion of~the plan that was exercised the year prior. After Action Report (AARs) must be completed within 30 days and submitted to PHP&R within 45 calendar days of the exercise. 18. Multidisciplinary training related to SNS will be conducted at least twice a year. This may include road shows, seminars, and orientations. These may be in support of but will not be in lace of exercisin the SNS Ian. The PC will coordinate with relevant staff in each health department to ensure that the following agreement addenda requirements will be accomplished. 19. Each local health department must participate in the North Carolina Health Alert Network NCHAN . 20. Demonstrate that 75% of full-time employees will have completed the Public Health Workforce Development System Online Assessment PublicHeathPre aredness.or b Ma 31, 2009. 21. Participate in county and regional Intrastate Crisis Communication Enhancement Network (ICCE Net) by establishing and maintaining a Local Health Information Team through coordination with the designated public information officer for each health de artment. 22. Work with the designated public information officer for each health department to ensure that there is a point of contact for the PHP&R Communication Coordinator to facilitate ICCE Net and WebEOC activities. Page 3 of 7 ~D OCHD Preparedness Agreement With Person County HD FY 08-09 23. Work with the designated public information officer for each health department to ensure that health risk communication educational activities are held for PIOs and media facilitators. The following is a list of core agencies and organizations that should be asked to provide a lead PIO, public affairs officer (PAO), or staff ember responsible for coordinating media/ public information and risk communication educational activities. (Others can be added as deemed appropriate by each county.) • County • Health Department • Large Municipalities • Emergency Management (if different from county PIO) • Hospital(s) • Emergency Medical Services • Red Cross 24. Provide materials as needed to the public health information officers on health/risk information to the public and kev partners as needed. The PC shall spend sufficient time in each county to ensure that the listed deliverables are accomplished. The PC shall attend all Local Emergency Planning Committee meetings, PHRST 4 PC Coordinator meetings, and other subcommittee meetings as necessary to accomplish the deliverables. The PC shall ensure that the Quarterly Narrative Report (QNR) is submitted to the Division of Public Health on time. Person County Health Department Responsibilities Person County shall not sub-contract out any of the services provided for in this Agreement without prior discussion and written approval of Orange County. Person County Health Department (Provider) shall hire and supervise afull-time Public Health Nurse III as the Public Health Preparedness Coordinator. The Provider shall inform Orange County (County) in the event of a resignation. Provider will ensure that the PC has a laptop and/or desktop computer, celphone, pager and basic office supplies available for use. Shared Health Department Responsibilities Each health department will maintain office space for the PC that contains a telephone and a computer access port. Each health department will ensure that the PC has access to county email systems and electronic files sufficient to accomplish the deliverables. Page 4 of 7 7 OCHD Preparedness Agreement With Person County HD FY 08-09 Each health department will ensure that basic office supplies are available at each location for the PC's use. Each health department's finance officer will be responsible for submitting the financial Electronic Monthly Report (EMR) to the Division of Public Health. Each health department and county government will supply statistics and information as required to complete the deliverables in this agreement. The health directors will hold bi-monthly conference calls between health directors, the PC, and other staff as determined by each health director for the purpose of coordinating the accomplishment of deliverables. Each health director and/or a health director designee, will make a minimum of one hour a week available to the PC for a meeting. Each health director will ensure that health department employees will assist and support the completion of the required and recommended training programs and other deliverables. Each health director will ensure that the medical director of each department is available for consultation as needed with the PC. IV. PAYMENT Provider shall submit an invoice for services provided on a monthly basis in the amount of $3,010 for the period December 1, 2008 through June 30, 2009. Funds necessary to cover additional expenses incurred to ensure that deliverables are met will be invoiced no later than May 31, 2009 and may not exceed the total amount of this contract ($24,000). These additional funds must be approved in advance by the Orange County Health Department. The invoice shall contain Provider's name and federal tax identification number and shall be signed and dated by the health director or his or her designee. The County will make payments to Provider upon receipt of and approval of the invoice by the Orange County Health Department and the Orange County Financial Services Department. V. RELATIONSHIP OF PARTIES Provider is an independent contractor of the County. Provider represents that he has or will secure, at his own expense, all personnel required in performing the services under this Agreement. Such personnel shall not be employees of or have any individual contractual relationship with the County. All personnel engaged in work under this Agreement shall be fully qualified and shall be authorized, licensed or permitted under state and local law to perform such services. It is further agreed by Provider that he shall obey all State and Federal statutes, rules and regulations which are applicable to provisions of the services called for herein. Neither Provider nor any employee of the Provider shall be deemed an officer, employee or agent of the County. Page 5 of 7 8 OCHD Preparedness Agreement With Person County HD FY 08-09 VI. CANCELLATION This Agreement may be cancelled by Provider upon ten (10) days written notice to the County, and the County may terminate this agreement upon ten (10) days written notice to Provider. In the event that funding through the NC Division of Public Health is reduced or discontinued, written notice will be provided by each county to the other of the intent to continue or discontinue. VII. INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS Provider shall obtain, at his sole expense, all insurance as required by the County's Risk Manager and shall not commence work until such insurance is in effect and certification thereof has been received by the County's Risk Manager. Such insurance shall name the County as Additional Insured under both General Liability and Auto Liability policies. The Provider will ensure that appropriate professional liability insurance is in place for the PC. VIII. INDEMNIFICATION Provider agrees to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless the County, for all loss, liability, claims or expense (including reasonable attorney's fees) arising from bodily injury, including death or property damage, to any person or persons caused in whole or in part by the negligence or misconduct of the Provider, except to the extent same are caused by the negligence or willful misconduct of the County. It is the intent of this section to require Provider to indemnify the County to the extent permitted under North Carolina law. IX. NON-ASSIGNMENT Provider shall not assign this Agreement, including rights to payments, to any other party without the prior written consent of the County. IX. ENTIRE AGREEMENT The parties have read this Agreement and agree to be bound by all of its terms, and further agree that it constitutes the complete and exclusive statement of the Agreement between the parties. XI. GOVERNING LAW Both parties agree that this Agreement shall be governed by the laws of the State of North Carolina. XII. INTERPRETATION. When the context in which words are used in this Agreement indicates that such is the intent, words shall in the singular number shall include the plural and vice versa. The masculine gender shall include the feminine and neuter. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the County and the Provider have executed and entered into this Agreement as of the day and year first above written. Page 6 of 7 OCHD Preparedness Agreement With Person County HD FY 08-09 ORANGE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA FOR AND ON BEHALF OF ORANGE COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT Rosemary L. Summers, MPH, DrPH Health Director DATE: FOR AND ON BEHALF OF PERSON COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT Janet Clayton Health Director DATE: FOR AND ON BEHALF OF THE COUNTY OF ORANGE Barry Jacobs, Chair Orange County Board of Commissioners DATE: ORANGE COUNTY FINANCE DIRECTOR: "This instrument has been pre-audited in the manner required by the Local Government Budget and Fiscal Control Act." Gary Humphreys Finance Director DATE: Page 7 of 7