BROWNSTOWN — Requests to hire a public health nurse for the health department and purchase a van for the juvenile home recently were approved by the Jackson County Council.
During Wednesday’s council meeting at the courthouse in Brownstown, Karla Hubbard, a medical administrative assistant for the Jackson County Health Department in Seymour, said the public health nurse position would be hourly. Previously, it had been contract-based.
She said the department has three public health nurses on staff — two paid with county funds and a third that’s typically a contract position and paid for with a grant from the immunization division of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The health department has received that grant from the CDC every year since 2015.
“Previously, we’ve always had that nurse be a contract position, which leads to them not getting benefits or insurance or any of those things,” Hubbard said. “If you’re trying to make long-term plans, it’s not very sustainable.”
Hubbard said the health department has enough money in its budget to pay the salary at the department’s current hourly rate. She also said the grant from the CDC can be written as hourly or contract-based with 60% of counties writing grants for hourly-based positions. The grant’s budget is increasable.
Councilman Brett Turner asked Hubbard about Health First Indiana funds in case the CDC does not give the grant and funding from HFI must be utilized. Hubbard said funds from HFI could be reappropriated if need be. She also said she was certain the health department will receive the CDC grant.
Councilman Brady Riley made a motion to instruct the county auditor to pay the third public health nurse hourly. The motion passed unanimously.
Dan Banks, executive director of the Jackson County Juvenile Home, requested the purchase of a new van, which will cost around $30,000 to $40,000.
“The one we have is shot,” Banks said. “The repairs are going up, and it’s close to a safety issue.”
County Highway Superintendent Jerry Ault suggested stripping the old van and using it to transport electronic voting systems instead of renting a truck to transport the systems. That suggestion was well-received by the council.
Banks was told to advertise for a van costing $45,000 with whatever amount of money not used for the purchase to be funneled back.
The council meets at 8 a.m. on the third Wednesday of every month in the former Jackson Circuit Court room in the courthouse, 111 S. Main St., Brownstown. Those interested in being placed on the agenda may contact the county auditor’s office at 812-358-6161 before noon on the Friday before the meeting. Meetings are open to the public and press.