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Home My WebLink AboutMINUTES - 04291986 - I.O.4 To BOARD OF SUPERVISORS yo FROM : INTERNAL OPERATIONS COMMITTEE Contra April 28, 1986 Costa DATE: Establishment of a Public Health/Environmental SUBJECT: Health Advisory Board SPECIFIC REQUEST(S) OR RECOMMENDATION(S) & BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATIONS: 1. Approve in concept the establishment of a Public Health/Environmental Health Advisory Committee consistent with the attached report from the Health Services Director. 2 . Authorize the Health Services Director to undertake an active recruiting process and return to the Internal Operations Committee on June 23 , 1986 with his recommendations for membership from which our Committee will recommend specific appointments to the Board. BACKGROUND: On December 10, 1985, the Board referred to our Committee the .concept of forming an Advisory Board in the areas of Public Health and Environmental Health, major programmatic areas which presently have no vehicle for citizen input into the policy deliberations of the Health : Services Department and Board of Supervisors. Our Committee met with Mark Finucane, Dr. Wendel Brunner, and Dan Bergman from the Health Services Department, and with representatives from the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers Union, United Professional Firefighters, Local 1, and several concerned citizens on April 28 to review the attached report from the Health Services Director. There was unanimous agreement that such an advisory board is needed both to provide input to the Department on policy formulation and to serve as a soundingboard for concerns citizens may have, but are unsure where to go for an answer. If the Board agrees in concept with the establishment of this Advisory Board, Mr. Finucane will solicit interest from a number of individuals and organizations and return to us in 60 days with a list of individuals from which our Committee will suggest appointments to the Board of Supervisors. CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: ` YES SIGNATURE: RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE APPROVE OTHER sIGNATUREisj: Nancy , Fanden Sunne W. McPeak r ACTION OF BOARD ON A—T-)1111 -29, 1986 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED X__ OTHER VOTE OF SUPERVISORS I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE X UNANIMOUS (ABSENT AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN AYE'S: NOES: AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD ABSENT: ABSTAIN: OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN. cc: County Administrator ATTESTED Health Services Director Dr. Wendel Brunner PHIL BATCHELOR. CLERK OF THE BOARD OF Dan Bergman, Env. Health SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR M382/7-83 BY ,DEPUTY CONTRA COSTA COUNTY HEALTH SERVICES DEPARTMENT cOUN Supervisor Nancy Fanden To: Supervisor Sunne McPeak April 24, 1986 Internal Operations Committ Date: ` � From: Mark Fin ucane Subject: Public and Environmental Health Services Director Health Advisory Board The Health Services Department met with the Internal Operations Committee on April 14 with a preliminary proposal fora Public and Environmental Health Advisory Board, to be appointed by the Board of Supervisors and advisory to the _ ,!.;,.:.Health Services Department. We were instructed to return to the Internal Operations Committee with a revised proposal . In particular, we were to con- sider the relationship of the advisory board to the proposed Hazardous Materials Commission recommended by the Hazardous Waste Task Force to ensure that there is no duplication of function. In addition, we were to identify specific groups . that should be represented on the advisory board, propose a definite number of members, and outline a mechanism for nominating and appointing the represen- tatives. Our conception of a Public and Environmental Health Advisory Board is a body encompassing sufficient expertise and perspective to provide a broad outlook on a variety of issues of public and environmental health. In this manner the advisory board would resemble an ongoing Blue Ribbon Commission, but at the same time it would be- grounded in the specific public and environmental health issues of concern to Contra Costa County. There are already a number of bodies dealing with specific issues of public and environmental health, to which our department relates. Those bodies include the Hazardous Waste Task Force, the Maternal , Child and Adolescent Health Advisory Board, Contra Costa AIDS Task Force, Smoking Education Coalition, Occupational . and Environmental Health Technical Advisory Committee, Developmental Disabilities Council, Prevention Networks, and the East Bay Perinatal Council . - The ouncil . -The proposed Public and Environmental Health Advisory Board would not replace or duplicate any of these bodies. Instead, the advisory board could consider each of these specific issues in the broader context of general public and environ- mental health, with board members with different experience and interests contributing their perspective to recommendations to our department. The Hazardous Waste Task Force has recommended to the Board of Supervisors that a county Hazardous Materials Commission be established, directly responsible to the Board of Supervisors, which would have the responsibiity to develop compre- hensive hazardous waste management plans, and programs to manage the storage, use, and transportation of hazardous materials. This Commission would include policy making level representatives from the county, cities, fire districts, sanitary districts, and representatives from both the public and private sectors. A-41 3181 Supervisor Nancy Fanden -2- April 24, 1986 Supervisor Sunne McPeak Certainly the health impact of hazardous materials on this county is one of the issues of concern to the Health Services Department, and would be considered by the Public and Environmental Health Advisory Board. We propose that three mem- bers of the advisory board be selected specifically because of their interest and knowledge of hazardous materials issues. Because of the importance of the work of the Commission to the hazardous materials programs of the Health Department, we propose that the three hazardous materials representatives on the advisory board be selected from the membership of the Commission. Such a selec- tion procedure would ensure that the advisory board is well informed of the work of the Commission when the board makes its evaluation of various public and environmental health issues, and would facilitate coordination between the Health Department and the Hazardous Materials Commission. The charges of these two bodies, however, are substantially different. The Hazardous Materials Commission reports to the Board of Supervisors on a comprehensive set of issues involving hazardous materials; the Public and Environmental Health Advisory Board advises the Health Department on a. broad .scope of health matters. We propose' a 12 member advisory board. In .addition to the three members selected from the Hazardous Materials Commission, we propose additional members be developed from the following categories: State Health Services Department - Epidemiology School of Public Health Volunteer Health Agencies Private Medical Community Children' s Issues Seniors' Issues Consumer Representatives Other Representatives Membership in the advisory board should be recruited from individuals with substantial knowledge and experience, and the willingness to share that knowledge through work on an advisory committee. In addition, membership should reflect the geographic and ethnic .diversity of the county. Important issues in which such an advisory board could provide valuable input to the Health Services Department include: o Implementation of AB2185, including the occupational health and community protection provisions. o Contra Costa's response to the AIDS epidemic. o Public and environmental health impact of hazardous materials usage, transport, and disposal . o Epidemiological studies of significant public concern, including prospective cancer studies. Supervisor Nancy Fanden . -3- April 24, 1986 Supervisor Sunne McPeak o Improving Public and Environmental Health services to the public. . o Priorities and allocation of resources in public and environmental health. o Perinatal .outcomes in high-risk areas of the county. o Promoting health. and reducing risk factors through formu- lation of public policy and subsequent health education. The advisory board would meet four to six times per year, 'and would be staffed by the Health Services Department. The board would be a working body, with active and committed individuals contributing their time and expertise, so ade- quate staff time and preparation is essential to the proposed advisory board' s effective functioning. Sufficient funds should be appropriated to cover those expenses. If the Board of Supervisors approves the concept of this advisory committee, the Health Services Department would begin an active recruiting process and return to the Internal Operations Committee in 30 to 60 days with the specific recom- mendations of individuals from whom the committee membership could be selected. MF:WB:rm cc: Supervisor Tom Powers Supervisor Robert Schroder Supervisor Tom Torlakson Phil Batchelor, County Administrator Claude Van Marter, Assistant County Administrator