Thanks to everyone who attended the Open House/Dedication of the Harold Meredith Annex Building on January 29. Even with horrendous weather, it was a standing room only crowd who really seemed to appreciate the concept and floor plan of the Annex, as well as the tributes to long-time Board of Health member Harold Meredith. We received warm and gracious thank you notes from Mr. Meredith’s family. The Annex gives us much needed space to grow so that we may keep pace with the needs of the county.
We recently had an active case of Tuberculosis involving a student in one of our high schools. Working closely with the Board of Education and the State Dept. for Public Health, we immediately tested students and faculty who may have been in close contact with the active case. Information on Tuberculosis and how it may be contracted was immediately distributed throughout the high school, and numerous questions by concerned parents and students were fielded and responded to. As I write this, we have no evidence indicating the presence of other active cases in the county that may have been generated from this one.
Lastly, the Kentucky General Assembly and our new Governor are wrestling with a shortfall of dollars for the upcoming biennium (two year) budget. Cuts in funding for education, social services, public health, and other essential areas are being discussed and debated. We hope that as a safety net provider, funding reductions for public health will be minimal. However, the reality is that the cuts may be as much as twelve percent of our projected state allocations. Should that occur, we will do everything we can to maintain our service levels, even though it may put us in a financial hard spot. We are determined to carry out our mission of doing all we can to provide Bullitt County residents the opportunity to be as healthy as they can be.