Present: Mary Klar, Bert Lund, Mary Poretti, LaVerne Sandberg, Jeff Schinzing, Dr. Vitale
Also Present: Judy Ludden, Rob Rudiger, Kris Thompson and Jeanne Young

The meeting was called to order at 1:30 by chair, Mary Poretti.

There were no appearances by the public.

A motion was made by LaVerne Sandberg, seconded by Bert Lund, to approve the minutes of December 9, 2003 meeting; motion carried.

The next meeting will be February 10, 2004 in Room 162.

Director's Report: Rob Rudiger gave the director's report in Dan's absence. Dan is on medical leave effective January 6, 2004. A motion was made by Mary Klar, seconded by Bert Lund, authorizing Roberta Rudiger to act on Dan's behalf during his leave; motion carried.

Personnel Report: The public health nurse position was offered and accepted by Jan Moddrell who will begin employment February 2, 2004.

The National Association of Local Boards of Health "NewsBrief" was distributed to committee members.

Rob reported Public Health has received additional doses of influenza vaccine and will be distributed to people at highest risk: healthy children 6-23 months, adults 65 years +, pregnant women in second or third trimester and persons 2 years + with underlying chronic health conditions. The clinic will be held at the Government Center, Room 235 on January 22, 2004 from 1:00 - 3:00 p.m. on a first-come basis.

Rob presented information related to increased BadgerCare verification requirements which were to take effect January 1, 2004. A letter was drafted requesting the state department delay implementation of these new requirements until such time that adequate funding can be provided to local agencies. A motion was made by Mary Klar, seconded by LaVerne Sandberg, to send the letter to Helene Nelson, Secretary of the Department of Health & Family Services and Mr. Mark Moody, Administrator of the Division of Health Care Financing; motion carried.

Financial Report: Jeanne highlighted county allocations items for each unit.
With changes in funding and IM allocations, the 2004 projected revenues for Economic Support is $22,000. The Children and Families unit will probably stay within budget with $89,083 remaining. The unit was awarded $4700 for youth aid emergency funds.
Long Term Support: Revenues are down $1900 on MA personal care but should end o.k. when reconciliation has been completed. The Mental Health/AODA budget is doing well. A check has been received for $43,000 CSP revenues, which will be noted on the December report. Public Health has $75,666 remaining; well within the budget. New computers were purchased with the Environment Consortium and Bioterrorism grant monies. Home Care: A mistake was made between client travel and trainings and meeting which will be corrected on the December report; the caseload is down so this unit is well within budget. Aging: Has $ 27,296 in the budget with one month remaining. Overhead Expenses: Extra software support was needed with the HIPPA program. Overall, the 2003 budget should come out o.k.

Judy Ludden provided an accounts receivable report totaling $293,190.69. For the most part, client billings are for Mental Health/AODA services; however, some services are provided through the Children and Families unit. A significant number of accounts have been referred to the collection agency. A query has been made available to us so a search will be done on clients owning property and owing us money. A $9,000 payment was received from the St. Croix Tribe in December.

Aging: Mary Klar questioned the aging report "suggested donation for congregate meals will increase from $2.50 to $3.00 per meal" and stated this wasn't discussed at a meeting.
Mary Poretti requested Lois provide information if the aging unit supervisor can set the rates or if this is something that should be decided by the committee. Mary Klar also questioned the congregate meal average for the Webster site. Rob will ask Lois to attend the February meeting with this information.

Benefit Specialist: Reversed mortgages were discussed to assist the elderly.

Children and Families: Questions were asked of Kris Thompson regarding juvenile placement homes, expenses, and advantages. She stated Lincoln Hills is a locked facility; the Passage re-unifies juveniles and families with special needs being met. A juvenile intake stat report by crime was distributed with criminal damage to property as the number one juvenile crime. Multi repeaters have decreased but offenders are starting younger (9-ll) where previously it was 15-16 year olds. Kris will provide stats for repeat offenders in the future. The unit has been referring juveniles to mediation with about 50% participation.

Mental Health/AODA: Rob reported there were no emergency detentions for adults or children this month. The average yearly emergency detentions total about 75-76 per year, with kids accounting for 10-12. From September on, numbers for kids were way down; less repeat kids. Rob feels this is a result of better aftercare treatment. She reports one person is in Trempealeau County with probable discharge soon. A letter of agreement with Northwest Counseling & Guidance was signed allowing Rob to act as the backup CSP Clinic Supervisor.

Home Care: The committee questioned why home care numbers are down. Dr. Vitale reported there is a drop off in medical throughout the community. He reported Hearts of Gold doing very little service in the Grantsburg area. Katie will be asked to address the low home care numbers.

Public Health: Less money will be coming into the Public Health budget for the tobacco-free coalition. Ruth Tripp's time will be decreased from 3 days to 2-1/2 days/week. Betty Olson will continue doing foot care clinics until the replacement nurse is trained. If any committee members can attend the Legislative Event January 19th in New Richmond, please contact Carol Larson for a ride.

Long Term Support: There is no waiting list for Birth to Three or the Alcohol/drug programs.

Economic Support/W-2: Fuel assistance funds were under $3,000. It will be very challenging as the dollars deplete and people's needs continue to increase. The caseloads continue to increase.

A motion was made by Jeff Schinzing, seconded by Bert Lund, to approve the vouchers in the amount of $334,347.56 motion carried.

A motion was made by Mary Klar, seconded by LaVerne Sandberg, to go into closed session to discuss employee performance and compensation pursuant to Wisconsin Statute l9.85(1) (C). Motion carried with roll call vote:

A motion was made by Jeff Schinzing, seconded by LaVerne Sandberg, to return to open session; motion carried.

A motion was made by Mary Klar, seconded by Bert Lund, to recommend Georgette Bruhn to regular employee status; motion carried.

The meeting was adjourned as there was no other business to come before the board.