Posted: 2/21/06
Public health clerical job duties changing
By David Heiller
Argus News Editor
Changes in the duties of Houston County Public Health clerical staff were approved from commissioners on February 14.
Personnel director Tim Comstock said the new structure would be more efficient.
Here are the changes:
ï The accounting clerk position held by Cindy Melbostad will be reclassified from B22 to B23 retroactive to January 12. The job has additional duties because of Minnesota Senior Health Options (MSHO) requirements.
ï The jobs of billing clerk and receptionist will be replaced by two office support specialist jobs. Current billing clerk Joan Breeser and receptionist Lois Egland will be eligible to apply for the new positions.
ï A third new position, called assistant office support specialist, is also being added. This was approved at an earlier board meeting.
MSHO is a new program that uses federal funds to pay for acute and long-term care services. Clients in MSHO are assigned a public health nurse for care coordination. That work has led to the additional administrative duties which the proposed changes in Houston County Public Health are trying to address.
The county will receive 100-200 new people through MSHO. UCare will pay the county $90 per month per patient.
ìEverybodyís struggling with this,î board chairman Kevin Kelleher said. He called it a mandate that is underfunded in many ways.
In other public health news, the board approved Michelle Severson as a nurse at Step 3, which is $20.04 per hour.
CJC update
Jail administrator Mark Schiltz told the board that a meeting had been set up with the jail planner and architects for March 14 at 1:30 p.m. He said the architect would have a floor plan and exterior plan for site B.
A public forum will take place at Caledonia Middle/High School auditorium that night at 6 p.m., Schiltz added.
Kelleher said that the concept that the architect comes up with could be applied to another site as well.
Commissioner Dave Corcoran said the most important thing will be to get a look at the exterior of the building. ìI would like to know too [what it will look like],î he said. ìItís got to start someplace.î
Kelleher said people who want information on the project can go to the county website at http://www.houstoncounty.govoffice2.com/.
Other business
ï The board also approved a grant agreement with the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, Office of Traffic Safety. The project, called Toward Zero Deaths/Day CAP, will run from February 1-June 30, 2006.
DayCAP stands for Daytime Concentrated Area Patrol. The goal is to increase seat belt use rates, which will lower traffic fatalities in car crashes. Strict enforcement of seat belt laws will be done by officers, deputies, and state troopers, Houston County Sheriff Darryl Peterson told The Argus.
The Winona County Sheriffís Department will administer the $50,000 grant, with the Houston County Sheriffís Department implementing it in Houston County.
ï Commissioners approved Caledonia Sno-Gopher gambling licenses for Little Miami and Shellhorn Road House.
ï The board approved the reappointment of Tom van der Linden and Ann Thompson to the board of Southeastern Minnesota Association of Regional Trails (SMART) members. Joyce Iverson is the alternate.
SMART represents 11 southeastern Minnesota counties for building a trail system for alternative modes of transportation. Its goal is to connect trails locally, regionally, and to neighboring states to enhance the economy, environment, and recreation.
ï The board received notice of a Houston area trail planning open house that will be held on February 23 from 6-8 p.m. at the Houston Nature Center. The goal is to get ideas about potential routes from landowners for a year-round trail between Houston and the Wisconsin border via Hokah and La Crescent.
Members of the Houston County Economic Development Association Trails Subcommittee will be present to discuss trail possibilities and show maps of the area.
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