COUNTY BOARD TO HEAR COVID-19 UPDATE & VOTE ON ADDITONAL FUNDING FOR PUBLIC HEALTH

August 13, 2020
County Board Chair Analiese Eicher, 608.571.6823
County Board

Behavioral health resource center, Juneteenth County holiday also slated for vote

 

The Dane County Board of Supervisors will hold a meeting tonight at 7:00pm as part of their regular schedule of meetings. Several critical items will be considered in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, in addition to making Juneteenth a holiday for Dane County employees, and authorizing a lease for a behavioral health resource center. Public Health Madison and Dane County Director Janel Heinrich will also give an update on the response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Resolutions scheduled for the Board to vote on include increasing staff capacity and testing resources for Public Health Madison and Dane County (PHMDC). Resolution 2020 RES-147 adds 57 LTE staff and provides overtime pay for staff reassigned to contract tracing and testing. Of those 57 positions, 17 are Disease Intervention Specialists, 20 are COVID-19 Response Specialists, and 20 are bilingual COVID-19 Response Specialists. The resolution adding these positions also includes an additional $1 million for testing.

 

An additional resolution creates a Deputy Director position for PHMDC to increase leadership capacity to shape the strategy of the response over the short, medium, and long-term for recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

"Our public health department is at the epicenter of this crisis," said County Board Supervisor Holly Hatcher (District 26), who serves on the Board of Health. "They are doing an outstanding job guiding the public through an unprecedented point in our history. The increase in cases is requiring additional support; I’m pleased we are able to allocate funds to these critical positions," she said.

 

Funds for these positons will come from the federal CARES Act funding Dane County received a few months ago.

 

The Board will also vote on a resolution making Juneteenth a paid holiday for Dane County government employees. The resolution points out that Juneteenth is a day to reflect upon how the community can work to create a better, more equitable future for all members of the community, one where African Americans in Dane County and everywhere can realize the freedom and equality first promised by the Emancipation Proclamation over 150 years ago.

 

"We are fortunate to have great employees working for Dane County. I call on them to use this day, a day so important to the African American community, as a day to share the critical work we are doing to move the dial on racial equity in Dane County", said Representative/Supervisor Shelia Stubbs (District 23).

 

The Board will also vote on a resolution authorizing a lease for space on Badger Road in the City of Madison to house the County’s behavioral health resource center. The center is being designed to connect people with the behavioral health they need. A "no wrong door" approach will be developed to direct people to the right level of care at the right time and identify barriers to accessing behavioral health care.

 

In response to the resolution, County Board Chair Analiese Eicher said, "when we look at the continuum of care, connecting people to the correct service as efficiently as possible is an important piece. Addressing behavioral health issues in our community is critical; I’m pleased to see we are able to move forward on this resource for the community".

 

The Board will continue to meet virtually. Information for the public to participate is at the top of the agenda.