By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
The Wood County Board of Health is torn. Some members believe COVID vaccines are vital to public health. Some view them as a personal decision. And one walked out before discussion even began on the issue Thursday evening.
At issue is the federal mandate that all health facilities receiving Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements must require employees to be vaccinated against COVID. The issue has been put on pause by an injunction in a Louisiana court.
That legal limbo will allow the board of health to continue discussing its options.
Before the special meeting began Thursday, board of health member Rachel Bowlus made an announcement that she believed the meeting did not comply with open meeting laws. She said the board was at risk of being sued or having any action taken being voided.
“I will not participate in this meeting,” Bowlus said. She then stood up and walked out of the board room.
In doing so, Bowlus not only missed the discussion about the vaccine mandate options, but also the county prosecutor’s explanation of her interpretation being wrong.
Prosecuting Attorney Paul Dobson said the board’s special meeting notice protocol does not need to be in the bylaws. The rules were followed for Thursday’s special meeting, he said.
Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Linda Holmes concurred. “We are complying with the statutes,” she said.
The remaining board members then spent more than an hour discussing the options for the vaccine mandate. The discussion will continue next week, during the regular board meeting on Dec. 9.
Board President Cathy Nelson explained the health board is no longer under the gun to make a quick decision on how to handle the federal mandate. The injunction issued Tuesday will give the board some breathing room.
Since the last meeting on the topic, Wood County Health Commissioner Ben Robison asked the county prosecutor’s office to determine the scope of the vaccination rule. Does it just apply to the health department’s community health center, which gets Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements for services? Or does it apply to the entire health department?
Those clinic reimbursements add up to $843,211 a year – which is 55% of the annual revenue at the Wood County Community Health Center. And that could be just the start of the funding losses, since the eligibility for grants and other money may be cut to facilities that aren’t fully vaccinated, Robison cautioned.
The health board had considered dividing the health department into sectors, and only requiring vaccines for those staff with direct patient contact.
However, Dobson’s reading of the requirement is that the health clinic is a part of the health department.
“The mandate was established to be as inclusive as it could be,” Dobson said.
This is all new territory, he added.
“There is no precedent to look at. We have no way of knowing how they are going to react,” Dobson said of the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
The board plans to continue looking at its options while the mandate is on hold. Dobson predicted no decision on the injunction before later this month. The decision could be further delayed if the issue is taken to the U.S. Supreme Court, Holmes said.
But Dobson cautioned that the board should be prepared for the possibility that the injunction could be lifted.
“I certainly wouldn’t suggest you drop the issue now and see what happens,” he said.
Board member Richard Strow questioned the option of creating different “zones” in the health department building, for those staff who have contact with patients, and those who don’t.
Unless the health department is going to install a fire wall, and new heating and cooling systems, there is no way for staff to be separated, Strow said.
“This is a real people issue,” he said. “These people are all part of a team working together.”
Strow suggested that the board come up with “just in case rules” for the mandate.
“I think it’s going to apply to everybody,” he said. “We all know what’s at stake – the financial example if we thumb our nose at the administration.”
Board member Tom Milbrodt suggested that the health department consider having more staff work remotely.
Robison said about 10 of the employees can work remotely, but the rest must be in the building. “Some jobs simply require them being here in person,” he said.
Robison said he does not know how many health department staff remain unvaccinated against COVID.
The health commissioner also pointed out “the goal is to reach compliance.”
“We want this to be a policy, should we need to enact it, that the board can stand behind,” Robison said.
The mandate comes with three levels of violations, with the most severe sanction being the termination of Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements.
Board member D.J. Mears questioned the true threat of not following the vaccine mandate.
“They just want us to do something,” he said.
“They are going to want policies and procedures,” Dobson said.
Mears also questioned the wording of staff exemptions. He said the language at another county health clinic in the area isn’t nearly as stringent.
Board member Bob Midden suggested that the board discuss its standards.
“There are very important principles involved,” he said. “We haven’t yet discussed those as a board.”
“The mission of the board of health is to prevent disease and promote health,” Midden said.
As a scientist, who has conducted research in public health, Midden responded to citizen comments made during previous board meetings about the inefficacy of the COVID vaccines. He compiled 160 “rigorous scientific studies” showing the vaccines’ effectiveness. He also said he has yet to find a reputable medical journal that has indicated the vaccines don’t work.
While some people have reported side effects of the vaccines, they are extremely minor in comparison to COVID itself, he said.
Midden talked about the dedication and courage of public health officials who helped eradicate smallpox, which killed 300 million people. “We no longer have to fear the scourge of smallpox,” he said.
Midden also balked at the notion that individual rights should supersede public health.
“It’s a myth that we are independent of each other,” he said. “The more people who are infected, the more likely we are to have variants occur.”
And the more people are ill, the more it stretches the healthcare system, he said. This week, every hospital in the area has been on emergency bypass because of COVID and staffing issues.
“This has never really happened before to this scale,” Midden said. “We are in this together.”
