ORD-2014-048 Approval of Budget Amendment #4-B Related to Position Changes and Receipt of Additional Medicaid Revenue within the Health Department

Browse Search

public health response, working in conjunction with Emergency Services to use and maintain incident management systems for local events and response activities, updating county Strategic National Stockpile plans in accordance with the most current Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance, and working with Emergency Services to update and maintain the Emergency Operations Framework plan. This position is responsible for completing the new NC Public Health Preparedness Capabilities Rubric which was released on November 4, 2014. After moving through the Preparedness Capabilities Rubric, health departments will be required to revise all of their existing preparedness plans to an All Hazards Plan. For eight years the Preparedness Coordinator position had been a shared Public Health Nurse 11 position with Person County. In October 2013 the position was redesigned as a shared Public Health Preparedness Coordinator with Emergency Services. The position was filled in March 2014 and the incumbent resigned on November 14, 2014. Emergency Services and Health have mutually determined that a shared position was not the most effective method of managing employee performance and associated work tasks. Consequently, Emergency Services will maintain the .64 FTE preparedness position and the Health Department will return to the previous model of a part -time Public Health Nurse filling this Public Health Preparedness position. In the current climate with Ebola virus and other emerging infectious diseases threatening the health and safety of U.S. residents, a nurse with public health or communicable disease training can be a valuable asset and adds nursing capacity to the Health Department. The person in this position would continue to work closely with Emergency Services to revise and implement new All-Hazards Public Health preparedness plans to ensure that the County is prepared to respond to public health threats. Given the increasing duties associated with the change to the All Hazards Plan and the current workload associated with Ebola, staff requests that the P H N 11 Preparedness Coordinator position be established as a 4.64 FTE Public Health Nurse II position within the Health Department. The salary for the current Nutrition Office Assistant position has been grant funded since 2449. The current grant is funded by the Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities; subcontractor with UNC Family Medicine and AccessCare. The grant period ends in May 2015. Additional funding is still pending. The funds are allocated but no RFA has been released. Nutrition Services has identified a new source of revenue to support the cost of adding benefits to this position. Recently the Division of Medical Assistance has made changes to Medicaid billing requirements to allow a Medical Nutrition Therapy appointment on the same day as an office visit. The details of the financial impact are outlined below. This allows patients to see the registered dietitian on the same day as their office visit. This is a tremendous benefit to the patient as it is more convenient than having to make a return visit to see the dietitian. Additionally, most of these patients have chosen not to see the dietitian on a different day than the office visit and therefore have not received the benefit of this service. Essentially, all of the prenatal clients meet nutritional risk criteria and can benefit from Medical Nutrition Therapy. The majority of these patients have Medicaid and this additional source of revenue will provide the funds to support benefits for this position. This position ensures that clients are scheduled for Nutrition Service Appointments, which includes verifying insurance benefits, scheduling appointments, making reminder calls, and