Posted: 5/10/05
County explores health inspection options
Winona County may be taking over inspections from the Minnesota Department of health in the future.
Winona County Environmental Services Director Jill Johnson talked to Houston County commissioners last week about having her county provide health inspection services to Houston County.
Licensing and inspections of regulated establishments in Houston County are presently done by the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH).
Regulated establishments include lodging, food, and beverage businesses such as restaurants, bars, motels, and bed and breakfasts. They pay annual license fees that fund the inspection program. Campgrounds, manufactured home parks, and public swimming pools are also licensed and inspected.
Johnson and Houston County Public Health Director Linda Grupa approached the board two years ago with a similar idea, and the board gave a preliminary OK.
But MDH would not delegate the program to Winona County at that time. It is now ready to delegate the programs, Johnson said.
There would be no additional cost to the county. Winona County is set up to do the billing.
Special jobs that are requested by the county such as working on a public nuisance like West Nile Virus, could be done on an hourly basis, Johnson said.
Commissioner Dave Corcoran asked if Winona County could do a better job than the state. Johnson said yes, they would be more accessible and would have a good relationship with the customers. MDH inspectors have a lot of area to cover, she added.
Corcoran said he has heard complaints from business owners that they are not being notified of changes soon enough in advance.
One thing that Johnson said Winona County has its own procedures for special event licenses for non-profit groups such as church and 4-H food stands. ìThe main thing is we want to see what theyíre going to do,î she said. Johnson said she did not want to go on-site and shut somebody down, and that that can be avoided, she said.
She also said festivals with petting zoos should have mobile hand washing facilities on site.
Commissioner Larry Graf asked Johnson and Houston County Public Health Director Linda Grupa to look into the new inspection idea. They both said they would work on it.
Any changes would take at least a yearís notice so that MDH can adjust its workforce, Johnson said.
Home care freeze
In other public health related business, Grupa told the board that she is implementing a freeze on home care admissions because her department is short-staffed due to a person on sick-leave and a resignation. The county is in the process of hiring new home health aides.
The county has had a high number of home care sign-ups lately, and they are at capacity, Grupa said. ìScheduling is quite a challenge at this point,î she said. The problem might be resolved by mid-June, Grupa added.
ìIf you canít do it, you canít do it,î Corcoran said.
Commissioner Ann Thompson said she hoped people understood that it is short-term.
ìWith any luck weíll slide through it,î Grupa said.
Caledonia Argus
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