Bringing different emergency management services together as a cohesive unit is something that is second nature to most governmental units, but Wright County was Emergency Medical Services relevant when most people didn’t know what the EMS acronym meant.
At the Tuesday, Oct. 27, meeting of the Wright County Board of Commissioners, Public Health Director Carol Schefers came before the board to present the county with an award for the county’s EMS Advisory Council. The Minnesota Department of Health recognized seven individuals and two groups for outstanding achievement in public health. The awards were presented Wednesday, Oct. 7, at a conference in Brainerd.
Wright County was honored for its vision 25 years ago when Schefers and former county commissioner Arlyn Nelson created the advisory council – a collaboration of fire departments, police, the county sheriff’s department, EMS, hospital emergency staff, county emergency management, county nuclear management, county commissioners and the public health department.
The EMS board began as an advisory board, but became a fully recognized committee dealing with several public health concerns. It has lasted 25 years – longer than any similar group of its kind in the state.
"The Community Health Awards are given each year to public health professionals for their leadership, for their impact on reducing health inequities, their dedication for serving the community and have been nominated by their peers," Schefers said.
Schefers made a request of the county board to hang the plaque in the county courthouse rather than in the public health department because she said the award isn’t for her department, but rather for the entire community, which has been represented by the several organizations that make up the EMS Advisory Board.
"It has truly been an honor to be part of this group," Schefers said. "These are wonderful people in your community. The work of this committee really has reflected the prevention part of public health. Every year, they work on goals, and those goals really are connected with how can we prevent things from happening in this community – how can we keep our community healthy and safe. That’s why over the years it has been so successful, because it really is working with the entire population of this county."
Other items
In other business, the board:
■ Authorized submission of a pair of grant applications to the Highway Safety Improvement Program for the construction of two roundabouts in the 2018 and 2020 construction seasons.
The first will be located at the intersection of County State Aid Highway 34 and County Road 134 in Buffalo, which is a $720,000 grant request with an $80,000 local share match.
The second is located at the intersection of CSAH 19 and 70th Street in Otsego, which requested a $900,000 grant and a $100,000 local match.
■ Approved the September revenue-expenditure guidelines. Auditor-Treasurer Bob Hiivala told the board that, through nine months of the year, both sides of the ledger are in keeping with expectations and nothing stands out as a budgetary red flag.
■ Authorized signatures on a memorandum of agreement for 2016 health insurance coverage for the unions representing the non-essential sheriff’s department staff and the courthouse unit.
■ Set a transportation committee of the whole meeting for 1 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 5, at the highway department building.
■ Approved the appointment of Wright County Emergency Management Coordinator Steve Berg as the county’s representative on the Central Minnesota Emergency Services Board. The county board also approved the appointment of Public Health Supervisor Jon Young as the alternate member to the CMES board.
■ Set a committee of the whole meeting for 1 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 3, to discuss the scope of the next phase of the courts needs assessment study. The courts are currently housed with the Government Center and space has been issue for years.
■ Authorized signatures on a maintenance agreement between the county and the city of Buffalo for snow and ice maintenance work on County Road 147.
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