Newark City Council met on December 17th and had their first reading of the merger agreement. I think that the majority of the council members are supportive. The District Advisory Council has set a special meeting for January 5th to vote on the merger, and Newark Council will vote on January 8th. That leaves only Pataskala and Heath to ratify the new contract.
I'm looking forward to getting trhough with this approval process so that I can start communicating with all the employees and work on building a cohesive team.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Do You See What I See?
We used to boat on Lake Erie; to navigate safely to distant destinations you need to keep one eye focused on horizon looking for a buoy or other marker in distance and the other watching for submerged hazards and other boats while checking your compass often to prevent getting off course. For the past three and a half years I’ve been navigating toward the possible merger of the Newark City and Licking County Health Departments. I can see light from the marina ahead; next Monday a merger agreement will finally go before the Newark City Council for their consideration.
Almost everyone who has looked into the merger has reached the same conclusion; it is a good public health decision. The devil is in the details, especially when politics, jobs, turf, money, and change are involved. That is why it has taken two study committees, and months of negotiations to finally get to where we are now.
The benefits are clear. Combining the health departments will streamline emergency response and disease control efforts. Reducing staff time wasted on duplicate activities; from payroll and general administration, to disease case reporting and tracking, will free up staff time to expand or improve services. Strategic planning and quality assurance programs established in the county will be extended to the city programs. Customer service will improve because we get calls and walk-in customers every day that we have to tell that they have the wrong health department, we then pass them over to the city department. Most of the residents don’t know that there are two health departments in Licking County.
Over the years we have seen that increased technical expertise is expected to meet state and federal program requirements. A small department usually lacks the staff to allow specialization and it is hard to keep up with changes in technology and regulations. It is unrealistic to expect an employee to be an expert in half a dozen program areas. Adding the city employees to the county health department will permit staff to specialize and become better trained to do their jobs.
Looking back, merging the health departments has been attempted numerous times over the past 60 years. Every time, either the politics couldn’t be overcome, or the employees fear of losing their jobs got in the way. This time the jobs are all protected, with the exception of the city health commissioner and the environmental health director, who have been offered early retirement incentives. The politics are more difficult, because you can’t please everyone, but I believe that we have an agreement that protects both the county and the city’s interests, and more importantly is in the best interest of the citizens of the entire community.
I believe that our elected officials will see the big picture – a combined department will be better equipped to prevent disease, protect the environment, and promote healthy lifestyles for all of Licking County. Our shared vision is “Healthy People, Living in Healthy Communities.” I hope that our vision will overcome political division.
We’ll see:)
Almost everyone who has looked into the merger has reached the same conclusion; it is a good public health decision. The devil is in the details, especially when politics, jobs, turf, money, and change are involved. That is why it has taken two study committees, and months of negotiations to finally get to where we are now.
The benefits are clear. Combining the health departments will streamline emergency response and disease control efforts. Reducing staff time wasted on duplicate activities; from payroll and general administration, to disease case reporting and tracking, will free up staff time to expand or improve services. Strategic planning and quality assurance programs established in the county will be extended to the city programs. Customer service will improve because we get calls and walk-in customers every day that we have to tell that they have the wrong health department, we then pass them over to the city department. Most of the residents don’t know that there are two health departments in Licking County.
Over the years we have seen that increased technical expertise is expected to meet state and federal program requirements. A small department usually lacks the staff to allow specialization and it is hard to keep up with changes in technology and regulations. It is unrealistic to expect an employee to be an expert in half a dozen program areas. Adding the city employees to the county health department will permit staff to specialize and become better trained to do their jobs.
Looking back, merging the health departments has been attempted numerous times over the past 60 years. Every time, either the politics couldn’t be overcome, or the employees fear of losing their jobs got in the way. This time the jobs are all protected, with the exception of the city health commissioner and the environmental health director, who have been offered early retirement incentives. The politics are more difficult, because you can’t please everyone, but I believe that we have an agreement that protects both the county and the city’s interests, and more importantly is in the best interest of the citizens of the entire community.
I believe that our elected officials will see the big picture – a combined department will be better equipped to prevent disease, protect the environment, and promote healthy lifestyles for all of Licking County. Our shared vision is “Healthy People, Living in Healthy Communities.” I hope that our vision will overcome political division.
We’ll see:)
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Making a Difference
This past weekend I went to a "Christmas to Cure Cancer" event in Dublin. It was a fun evening of dinner, live and silent auctions, live music, and funds were raised to support the James Cancer Center, the Stephanie Spielman Fund for Breast Cancer Research, and The Heather Pick Spirit Fund - Benefiting The Columbus Cancer Clinic. This event and the music CDs that they have sold have raised over $500,000 since 2002. It is a great example of what a few dedicated people can do to make a difference.
The Licking County Health Department and our non-profit partner, the Public Health Partnership of Licking County, began receiving grant funds from the Susan G. Komen Foundation in 2006. The S.A.S.S. – Services and Social Support for Breast Cancer program was formed to increase breast cancer awareness and provide needed support, both financial and emotional, to breast cancer patients and survivors.
In 2006 we hosted our first "Think Pink" breast cancer awareness event and fundraiser. In 2007 the event grew to 350 attendees with over one hundred auction items, donations, and sponsorships raising over $21,000 for breast cancer programming in Licking County. Funds are being used to supplement the Komen Grant, to provide additional support for breast cancer patients, and to provide free breast cancer screenings.
There are many ways to give back to your community; your time, your talents, your resources, but we all have something to offer. There is no better time of the year than this to be reminded that giving does not stop on December 25th.
To order a Christmas to Cure Cancer CD or Heather Pick's "Circle of Support" CD visit http://www.achristmastocurecancer.org/, all proceeds go to cancer programs. You'll be glad you did!
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