The Board of Health met 02/14/2024. They took up two action items.
One was a request to approve an Electronic Health Records vendor contract for an annual subscription cost of $12,371 and a one time training and implementation cost of $5,500.
The other was a request to apply for a $4,000 Wisconsin Bureau of Transportation Safety grant and direct it toward providing car seat safety services to Appleton residents.
Both items were approved unanimously.
I’ve prepared a transcript of the discussion for download:
RECOMMENDATION FOR ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORD SYSTEM (EHR) VENDOR – CHAMP SOFTWARE
The Health Department has been using paper records up until this point. Moving to an electronics record system would increase efficiency, be more cost effective, and provide better organization. Additionally, this system would take over data tracking activities that are currently performed by a program called i-Series which is scheduled to sunset in February of 2025. The Health Department also currently utilizes an unsupported clinic scheduling program which would be taken over by this new EHR system.
Staff received three bids from three different HER vendors that sub-specialize in public health. Staff believed the one that met all of their needs was CHAMP Software. Their product is called Nightingale Notes.
The annual cost of the silver tier for the program is $12,371 and the city would also pay an additional one-time fee of $5,500 for training and implementation services.
Alderperson Vaya Jones (District 10) asked if staff would be transferring old paper records to the new system, but Health Department Deputy Director Sonja Jensen said they would only do that for records of people who were still current clients—not for inactive records.
The Board of Health voted unanimously to approve the recommendation.
BOTS GRANT ACCEPTANCE RECOMMENDATION
Health Officer Charles Sepers requested permission to apply for and accept a $4,000 grant from the Wisconsin Bureau of Transportation Safety. Staff intended to use the money to create an Appleton-specific child passenger safety program. It would allow them to provide free car seats to qualifying applicants as well as provide education on how to install and care for the seats. This grant could be renewed annually, ensuring continuation of the program.
The Health Department currently ahs three nurses who are certified child passenger safety technicians. They would be able to provide car seat fittings and education to all Appleton residents and then free car seats to people who meet the income requirements.
Other Health Departments in the area provide similar services with the help of their own BOTS grants, and the City of Appleton has, in the past years, worked with Outagamie County to get free car seats for qualifying people. But getting a grant of their own would open up a new opportunity to assist the residents of Appleton.
The board voted unanimously to approve the request.
View full meeting details and video here: https://cityofappleton.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=1161520&GUID=898DE6B2-8B60-44C5-A283-278B82FE0B49
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