Didya know ? the county board in April voted to leave South Country Health Alliance  ( a small group of counties HMO for human service recipients) at the end of the year.  Freeborn County is no longer  at  risk of large liability payments if the HMO does poorly and loses money like it did  in 2008 and 2009. Crow Wing County also voted to leave this risky venture last December and Mower County left South Country near its beginning when it too saw the large risk  in running an HMO.

Didya know ? many counties are looking at having Public Health admin being replaced by Human Services admin.  This simple move could save a substantial amount of money by eliminating one department head in the Counties who adopt this idea.

Didya know ? the county board set the tentative levy at 6.9% over last year.  I didn’t vote for that, and am bringing cost-saving administration cuts to the board in hopes that the levy can be lowered by the December deadline.

Didya know ?the Shellrock River Watershed local levy for Administration is the max the state will allow $250,000/year.

Didya know ? watersheds have boards of appointed (not  elected)  officials that can assess properties for benefits received and levy taxes to finance district administration. They also belong to an association which lobbies (with your tax dollars) the State Legislature for more money and power to protect this taxation without representation system . http://www.bwsr.state.mn.us/planning/WD-WMO_overview.html

Didya Know ? the department head of Environmental Services isn’t certified to do inspections of septic and sewers because he hasn’t taken the classes. (Even though for years I have brought up sending him to school to get that inspection license at county expense, and staff he supervises is certified, but often shorthanded.) Had he taken the classes he could help with  sewer inspections in the busy season. Instead of training and using existing staff as suggested above the County Board voted  3-2  to fill a watershed tech position costing the  the county $40,000 plus per year.

Didya know ? the county had no water technicians in 2000 but now has two.  One is a County employee  the other is a Shellrock River Watershed employee. Both paid with your local tax dollars.

Didya know ? you can see this  debate on continuing the expansion of local government  at http://www.co.freeborn.mn.us/commissioners/video/default.aspx –meeting date June 15, 2010 from 26 min 56 sec to 56 min 29 sec  at the link above . 

Didya know ?  Freeborn County now has a population less than our population in 1940 which was 31,780. Our highest population was 1970 with 38,064.

Steele County

Comment: When I called Steele county last week they told me they contracted with a nutitionist  10 hours per week
Here is what Steele County emailed yesterday

Sent: Friday, April 23, 2010 11:59 AM
To: ‘dbelshane@lakes.com’
Subject: FW:

Here is the contract with the Nutritionist.  We increased our Health Educator from  3/4 time to full-time to work on the SHIP program.  The contracted employee came from application we had for an RN or Nutritionist.

Statewide Health Improvement Program Consultant Contract    

This agreement is made and entered into between __ and Steele County Public Health Nursing Service. Terms of the agreement are from February24, 2010 through June 30, 2010. This contract is for up to 15 hours per week at $38 per hour and mileage at Federal IRS rate. Consultant will provide own workspace, liability insurance with a minimum of $1,000,000 coverage and auto insurance. See attached copies of insurance. Billing will be submitted in writing with hourly computation of work performed and mileage.

This contract may be terminated by either party with or without cause upon 14 days written notice delivered by mail or in person. This contract may also be terminated if Statewide Health Improvement Program (SHIP) funding is reduced or eliminated.

DUTIES FOR CONTRACT PERIOD  
 
1. Develop and Implement SHIP School Intervention for Steele County.

2. Attend meetings and/or trainings as directed by the SHIP Coordinator or Steele County Public Health Director.

3. Provide input and support as needed for overall SHIP efforts in Steele County. 

Comment : It appears Steele added 25 hours of additional staff time staff to cover this grant. 10 hours to a 30 hour a week person internally assigned  and 15 hours to a contract nutritionist job opened for the public to apply. I want to thank Steele County’s Human Resource Department for the info on contracts .

____________________________________________________

Olmsted 

 Opened it to the public and hired it as a county employee.

________________________________________________

Waseca County and Le Sueur County 

 Hired a coordinator together. Hired by Waseca and contracted with Le Sueur. Also they are getting help from the Lung Association and a tobacco free group.

____________________________________________________

Nicollet County and Brown County

 Hired a coordinator together. Each county assigned or added some existing or part time staff which are public health nurses.

__________________________________________________________

Martin/Faribault/Watonwan

Hired one coordinator with a Masters in community health for all three counties. Also there  are  .5 positions in each county with masters or bachelor degrees in community health. Opened positions to the public.

Faribault & Martin County Ad for SHIP Coordinator

Grant Coordinator:  Human Services of Faribault & Martin Counties is seeking applicants for a Grant Coordinator position to be filled should our grant application be funded.  Duties:  The Statewide Health Improvement Program (SHIP) Coordinator will plan and implement SHIP within Faribault, Martin, and Watonwan Counties using proven interventions to reduce tobacco use and reduce obesity/overweight.  The focus would be to work with community partners in schools, community, work sites, and health care to implement changes in policy, systems, and environment.  Work will include community assessment, community integration and development, and working with community Steering Committees to implement interventions.  This position will report to the Community Health Managers in the counties and will work closely with Department of Health Grant personnel.  Funding for the grant is through 6/30/2011 with possible renewal.

Minimum Qualifications:  Bachelor’s degree in nursing, public health education, community health education, planning, social work, public administration, or a closely related field and two years of experience in at least three of the following areas:  (1) coordination and/or planning community programming for specific populations; (2) writing, designing, and producing public health informational materials including fact sheets, reports, articles, and pamphlets; (3) researching, designing and writing public health training manuals and other training materials; (4) organizing and presenting workshops or recruiting, organizing, and coordinating the training of community groups; (5) researching, writing, producing and distributing newsletters; and (6) designing and maintaining a clearinghouse of public health education materials.  A Master’s degree in one of the above fields may be substituted for one year of experience.  Salary Range begins at $36,264 plus benefits.

Comment: Our salary is costing us $56,160.00 /year. I wonder why our staff set the salary higher than other counties?  If these three counties  each paid 1/3, the position is only costing them $12,088.00 each for the coordinator. 

Applications must be submitted to the Minnesota Merit System.  Position Title:  SHIP Coordinator.  On-line applications are preferred and can be accessed at http://www.dhs.state.mn.us.  Please include a description of your work experience related to the minimum qualifications.  Application deadline is June 15, 2009.  For further information or application materials, contact Linda Mohwinkel at 507-238-4757, email Linda.Mohwinkel@fmchs.com, or visit our website at www.fmchs.com.  AA/EOE

Comment: Note the ad states AA/EOE (Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer)

Comment: Here is how they hired part time contractor without using a temp service. I wonder why we used Express Services when whe could have just  done this.

Contractor for Statewide Health Improvement Program (SHIP)

Faribault, Martin, and Watonwan Counties’ Statewide Health Improvement Program (SHIP) is seeking a Purchase of Service Contractor in each of the three counties (three Contractors).  This exciting opportunity includes working with SHIP mini-grant recipients to implement policy, systems and environmental changes to reduce obesity (through nutrition and physical activity) and tobacco use/exposure.  Additionally, the contractor will provide technical assistance and managerial guidance to SHIP mini-grant recipients, including acting as a resource person for SHIP, assisting mini-grant recipients in developing work plans, completing required reporting, developing training and networking opportunities, and overseeing mini-grant budgets and evaluation activities.  It is anticipated the duties of the successful Contractors will take approximately 76 hours per month with availability during regular office hours for required meetings and contacts.  

Contractor qualifications include:

• A bachelor’s degree or higher from an accredited four-year college or university with a major in community health, public health, health education, health promotion, recreation, parks and leisure services, family consumer science, education, human performance, or related degree.

OR

• A bachelor’s degree or higher from an accredited four-year college or university and at least one year full-time experience with community engagement, public speaking, writing reports and work plans, and managing budgets.

OR

• An associate’s degree and five years of experience working with community engagement, public speaking, writing reports and work plans, and managing budgets. 

Contractor requirements include:

• Personal computer with Microsoft Office version 2004 or higher;
• Internet;
• Cell phone; and
• Vehicle for local travel

If interested, please send a cover letter, resume and reference list to

Chera Sevcik, MS

SHIP Coordinator – Faribault, Martin & Watonwan Counties

115 W 1^st St

Fairmont  MN  56031

Or submit via email to:

chera.sevcik@fmchs.com

___________________________________________________________      

Goodhue County

   Office Support Assistant (OSA) who provide services within the assigned SHIP grant programs/sectors. The sectors include   Comment:  Thank you to all the counties who sent info, showed how they hire different positions and also gave the educational background for this position. Seems like a simple matter if staff will not  do some of the work  internally we can open it up to someone  with a qualified degree as other counties have done.

PositioPublic Health Nursing Supervisor – State Health Improvement Program (SHIP)Organization:

healthcare, schools/childcare, worksites and community and the program will provide technical assistance and coordination in the

effort to provide education, policy development, and systems and environmental changes to impact the reduction of chronic disease

by addressing physical activity, healthy nutrition, and tobacco prevention. This position may provide back-up for other health

education programs and participates in Emergency Preparedness activities/events.

This position is a grant-funded, contingent position, with benefits, anticipated through June 30, 2011. Funding for these positions is

provided by the Minnesota Department of Health through the Statewide Health Improvement Program (SHIP).

Anoka County has an immediate opening for a full-time 40 hours/week Public Health Nursing Supervisor. This position

COUNTY                       QUALIFICATION                              HIRING PROCEDURE  

  Freeborn  3 yrs study Sociology&SpEd        1 applicant allowed (temp serv) 

Wabasha                      Public Health Nurse                               internally assigned

Dodge               Masters degree health promotion         Open to public 15 applied

Mower                       Public Health Nurse                                     Open to public

Fillmore           Degree in Health Education                         internally assigned

Houston          Masters in Public Health                                internally assigned

Steele                Masters in Health Science              contract &  internally assigned

Goodhue          Degree Community Health             Open to Public 30 Applied

Olmsted              Health Educator Degree             Internal & Open to Public

Waseca         Health Education Degree                     Open to Public

LeSueur      Health Education Degree                       Open to Public

Nicollet        Public Health Educator            Open to Public  & internally

Brown            Public Health Educators          Open to Public & internally

Martin                      Masters Degree                              Open to Public

Faribault                  Masters Degree                              Open to Public

Watonwan              Masters Degree                                Open to Public

Anoka                      Public Health Nurse Degree         Open to Public

Goodhue                 Degree  in Public Health              Open to Public

Blue Earth                BS Community Health                Opened internally

Cottonwood          Health Educator Degree           Opened to Public

Jackson                   Health Educator Degree            Opened to Public

Redwood                Health Educator Degree             Opened to Public 

Renville                   Health Educator Degree             Opened to Public

Nobles                   Public Health Degree          Opened to Public  10 Applied

Rock                       Public Health Degree                Opened to Public

Pipestone            Health Educator                        Opened to Public 20 Applied

Lyon                     Health Educator                         Opened to Public

Lincoln                Health Educator                          Opened to Public

Murray                Health Educator                           Opened to Public

Carlton                Bachelors Degree                         Internally Assigned

St. Louis             Bachelors Degree                 Opened to Public & Internal

Koochiching    Health Educator                    Opened to Public filled Vacancy

Cook                  Bachelors Degree                            Opened to Public

Lake                   Bachelors Degree                        Opened to Public

Aitkin              Bachelors Degree                            Opened to Public

Itasca              Bachelors Degree                            Opened to Public

I brought up our county’s questionable hiring practice  at our March 16 County Board meeting and asked that we open this hiring up to the public since we are an equal opportunity employer or assign it internally and save  money.

http://www.albertleatribune.com/2010/05/05/still-no-county-decision-on-ship-position/

I have asked for options to be voted on at our April 20 meeting.

http://www.albertleatribune.com/2010/04/06/county-mulls-rehiring-health-position/

Here are the latest newspaper articles

http://www.albertleatribune.com/2010/04/21/belshan-takes-a-stand-on-health-position/

http://www.albertleatribune.com/2010/05/05/still-no-county-decision-on-ship-position/

 Still in the works

• Application for stimulus dollars to research solar power use, county buildings
• Dam repair on Albert Lea Lake/ Shellrock River headwater
• Work toward area Veteran’s hospital
• Wind farms in Manchester area, Hayward area
• Conger, Manchester sewer systems in progress, Myrtle working on grants (if you have sewer questions I know way more than I used to, or ever wanted to)
• Good results with railroad crossing repairs between Hayward and county line (if you have a bad crossing call me and I’ll help you with RR contacts)

Dan Belshan, District 2 ph: 507-448-3332 e: dbelshan@lakes.com