Other News
May 2, 2024: WA State Governor and Assistant Secretary of WSF Talk Ferry Service & Solar Power with SJC Officials
Apr 11, 2024: Community Meeting: Sea Level Rise Adaptation for Outer Bay and Agate Beach Areas on Lopez Island
Mar 11, 2024: Queers in Unexpected Places: Searching for (and Finding) Gender and Sexual Non-Conformity in the Rural and Early PNW
Mar 7, 2024: DRAFT Richardson Marsh Preserve Stewardship and Management Plan Now Open for Public Comment
Dec 5, 2023: County Council Member Jane Fuller and Senator Liz Lovelett to Host Public Meeting on Lopez
Nov 3, 2023: County and Town Send Open Letter to State Officials Regarding Impacts of Poor Ferry Service
Sep 29, 2023: Conservation Land Bank Announces Special Meeting to Discuss Watmough Bay Preserve Addition
Sep 14, 2023: The mobile dental van is coming to Lopez! // ¡La camioneta dental móvil ya llega a López!
Aug 22, 2023: San Juan County Adopts 32-Hour Work Week in the Name of Fiscal Health, Recruitment, and Islander Wellness
May 25, 2023: Recap of Lopez Neighborhood Meeting Regarding the Relocation of Public Works Facilities
May 23, 2023: District 3 Councilmember Jane Fuller Opens Office on Lopez and Hosts Community Conversation
Apr 17, 2023: Give Lopez Starts April 17th - A two week fundraiser benefiting 15 Lopez Island Non-Profits
Sep 22, 2022: Interim Watmough Preserve Addition Stewardship and Management Plan Now Open for Public Comment
SJC Board of Health May 22, 2024
May 25, 2024
By League of Women Voters of the San Juans
Observer Corps Notes: Board of Health May 22
Some Accountable Communities for Health (ACH) partners will present to the board on their local projects later this year. The ACH is still waiting on details of how the Medicaid waiver will affect care coordination. Mark Thompkins will present at a conference on equity in Atlanta in August. The Community Collaborative Committee gave an additional $5,000 grant to the Foodbank where members learned demand goes up in the summer as seasonal workers use services. The Mullis Center is creating a caregiver list. The North Sound Behavioral Health ASO will have some contingency funding available and will hold a retreat on June 3.
Kyle Dodd presented the annual report on the Environmental Health activities. The Department issues permits and does inspections for on-site sewer systems, solid waste, drinking water, pools and spas, and food safety. They test local waters for shellfish safety, investigate animal bites and zoonotic disease outbreaks. They have seen a drop in sewer and well permit requests in 2023 vs. 2022. They investigated 16 animal bites including one from a bat that was positive for rabies. They implemented a new on-line system for managing sewer system inspections. They continue to offer training for homeowners to do their sewer inspections themselves.
Housing coordinator Ryan Page and SAFE San Juans Director Dave Dunaway reported on the Rapid Re-Housing Program that Safe San Juans runs for domestic violence victims. Funds for the program first became available in 2020 in response to the Covid epidemic and continue to be offered by the state. The funds pay for temporary housing for victims of domestic violence and their children, while they seek permanent safe housing and get medical care and support services. With no shelter in the county, such funds have made a huge difference in ensuring that survivors do not return to their abuser. In 2023 Safe San Juans assisted 112 people experiencing Domestic violence and 28 experiencing sexual assault.
The board gave approval to Mark Thompkins to explore the possibility of sharing a county health officer with Whatcom County and to begin work on a job description to recruit a new county health officer in the wake of the retirement of Dr, James. There will be no Board of Health meeting in June.
Kyle Dodd presented the annual report on the Environmental Health activities. The Department issues permits and does inspections for on-site sewer systems, solid waste, drinking water, pools and spas, and food safety. They test local waters for shellfish safety, investigate animal bites and zoonotic disease outbreaks. They have seen a drop in sewer and well permit requests in 2023 vs. 2022. They investigated 16 animal bites including one from a bat that was positive for rabies. They implemented a new on-line system for managing sewer system inspections. They continue to offer training for homeowners to do their sewer inspections themselves.
Housing coordinator Ryan Page and SAFE San Juans Director Dave Dunaway reported on the Rapid Re-Housing Program that Safe San Juans runs for domestic violence victims. Funds for the program first became available in 2020 in response to the Covid epidemic and continue to be offered by the state. The funds pay for temporary housing for victims of domestic violence and their children, while they seek permanent safe housing and get medical care and support services. With no shelter in the county, such funds have made a huge difference in ensuring that survivors do not return to their abuser. In 2023 Safe San Juans assisted 112 people experiencing Domestic violence and 28 experiencing sexual assault.
The board gave approval to Mark Thompkins to explore the possibility of sharing a county health officer with Whatcom County and to begin work on a job description to recruit a new county health officer in the wake of the retirement of Dr, James. There will be no Board of Health meeting in June.