Members of the Saline County Health Advisory Council will also serve as a family planning committee, as required by a family planning grant administered through the Health Department. County Medical Director David Dupy moved to use the seven member Health Advisory Council while including the staff stipulated in the grant. Motion carried unanimously.

The committee will review family planning educational materials, facilitate outreach and provide guidance. The grant seeks a user of family planning services to make sure educational materials are easily understood. HD Director Jason Tiller wasn’t certain if this consumer advocate was required or suggested. The family planning committee is to have five to nine members.

County Commissioner John Price serves on the Health Advisory Council. Other HAC members completed an expression of interest form and were specifically selected by the County Commission. They include Dr. David Dupy, Dr. Jacob Hodges, Nurse Practitioner Gwenda Philbrook, SRHC VP Tom Bell, Veterinarian Glenn Engelland, Minister Ron Kramer and United Way’s Amanda Michaelis. Tiller and Price serve in an ex-officio capacity.

Tiller attended an ESF8 Health and Medical Symposium, where they discussed the challenges of reuniting owners and pets following a disaster. Individuals have to be able to prove ownership before they can get their pet back. This can be done by:
• Having pets micro-chipped.
• Taking pictures of the pet, particularly with owners in the pictures.
• Putting owner contact information on the pet’s tags.

Ron Kramer agreed to distribute information about United Way’s 2-1-1 assistance program to the Ministerial Alliance.

Leigh Ann Montoy reported on the Conscious Discipline technique used at Head Start; more information can be found at www.consciousdiscipline.com.

When KSAL aired a public service announcement multiple times about the recent syphilis outbreak, KSAL provided a service worth $2,000 – $3,000, to benefit the public.