DATE: October 5, 2021
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Hollis Magill, Director of Human Resources
SUBJECT: Salary Resolution Amendment, Infection Preventionist
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
Approve Amendment to the Salary Resolution establishing the new classification of Infection Preventionist and adding one (1) allocation within the Department of Public Health, effective October 18, 2021, as reflected in Appendix “C”.
REPORT
There is no increase in Net County Cost associated with the recommended actions. Approval of the recommended action will bring the County into compliance to continue receiving the Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity (ELC) grant and enable the Department of Public Health to continue providing resources to and educating the community about communicable diseases. This item directly impacts the Department of Public Health but has countywide implications.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
Your Board may choose to deny approval of the new classification. Should your Board choose not to approve the recommended actions, the Department would not be in compliance to receive funds from the ELC grant.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no increase in Net County Cost associated with the recommended action. The recommended position will be financed through November 17, 2022 with funds provided by the Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity - Enhancing Detection grant. Funding is expected to be provided by the COVID-19 ELC Enhancing Detection Expansion Funding grant through July 31, 2023. The ELC grant is expected to be extended after 2023 to continue funding for this position once current grants expire. The department will continue to look for other grant provided funding sources should funding through ELC grants be eliminated. If funding is not available, the department will move the incumbent into a separate vacancy within the department.
DISCUSSION:
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Public Health has worked to expand their resources to educate the public about communicable diseases. The department is currently receiving funds through the ELC grant to detect, respond to, control, and prevent infectious diseases. However, this grant has a requirement that the County have an Infection Preventionist added to the budget. To continue receiving this grant, the County is required to develop and add an allocation for an Infection Preventionist.
Along with meeting the ELC grant requirement, the addition of this position will assist the department in furthering their goals of enhancing infection prevention and community health education. This position will work closely with schools, businesses, community groups, and other entities to provide them with consultation, education information, training, and communicable disease investigation to control the spread of infections.
REFERENCE MATERIAL:
BAI #13, November 24, 2020
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
Salary Resolution Amendment - Appendix “C”
CAO ANALYST:
Yussel Zalapa