City of Oak Creek

Common Council Report

Meeting Date:  July 6, 2004

Item No.:         12

Recommendation:  That the Common Council authorize the hiring of one replacement part-time Public Health Nurse (PHN) for 700-800 hours per year.

Background:  The Health Department has had part-time PHN’s since 1980. The part-time PHN’s are scheduled to work a total of 8,300 hours per year. (This is a decrease of 2,000 hours from the previous years and is partially due to the decrease in the hours serving the schools.)

The Personnel Committee discussed this request at their meeting on June 29^th and gave their approval to continue with the hiring process. We have a list of qualified applicants from our recent hiring process that we would use to fill this position.

Regarding the activities mentioned in the memo to the Personnel Committee dated June 17th, the sexually transmitted disease follow-ups were performed by the state until they “handed off” that activity to the local agencies. The referrals for adult welfare checks come from many areas: concerned family members, Interfaith, the fire department, and the police department.  And, we now have much planning to do for bioterrorism and other public health emergencies.

Fiscal Impact:  The 2003 salary range for this position is $17.25-$21.65 per hour. There are sufficient funds in account 75-105 for this replacement position. Also, the health department received $23,000+ this year to support our efforts in bioterrorism planning; we will receive a similar grant in 2005. While the grant amount off-sets all staff members planning activities, it does pay for at least one part-time PHN position.

Prepared by:

Deborah L. Schier, RN, MBA

Community Public Health Administrator

Fiscal Review by:

Beverly A. Buretta, CMC

City Clerk