Clark County Health Department Looks to Become Agent of DATCP
Thursday, August 2nd, 2018 -- 12:45 PM
-The Clark County Health Department recently two community forums regarding the department becoming an agent of the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.I spoke with Clark County Environmental Health Specialist Kevin Smith and Director of the Clark County Health Department Bob Leischow in regards to the department becoming an agent to DATCP. Kevin explained how the conversation began.
“There are a number of things that lead to the discussion. One of them being, we were getting a lot of phone calls from community members and individuals who wanted to sign up for new permits and licenses to get a new business going. We also received phone calls from individuals to report concerns about establishments. We were getting a lot of requests of licenses, especially compared to complaints about any restaurant issue.”
“So, in both cases, we currently don’t serve as an agent to DATCP, so all we can do is give them that number for DATCP. So, they have to call out and from there, we can only follow up if we call them back or we hear back from them in another way, so we don’t really know what’s going on once they call and we have to refer them on to DATCP. We’re trying to get more involved and be of better assistance to these establishments so that they can get an easier license or permit issue resolved instead of calling over to DATCP and have the process take much longer.”
“It was sort of what sparked the conversation. Interest in the community, continued interest and getting it up and running.”
He also explained some of the advantages of the Health Department being an agent to DATCP.
“The number one thing is that we are local. So, it’s much easier for establishments to get a hold of us and get their license issued and get up and running much faster. We’re available to answer more questions for them, if they have any, about their restaurant and if they’re operating correctly or if they need to do anything different or they want to expand.”
“Also, we’re going to be able to respond to foodborne related outbreaks much more quickly than what happens when the state is the one operating this program. And so, there’s been a landmark study that showed that local health departments are able to respond more quickly, close off the outbreak and get things back up and running much more quickly than their neighboring counterparts who were under the DATCP umbrella, partly because when the state does that, people have to follow up and come in from much further away. So, it could be Madison, Eau Claire, La Crosse. So, it takes a lot longer to respond and to stomp out any foodborne outbreaks.”
“And we don’t get outbreaks all the time, but they do happen. A good example is, last year we had our first case of rabies confirmed in a bat since 2011. And so, it’s not like it happens every year, but these things do happen. And so, if we’re here and ready to respond when they do happen, it’s going to go much more quickly. So, foodborne outbreak illnesses may not be incredibly common in the county, but when it does happen, we’re there and ready to respond. In general, everyone is operating pretty well and those concerns aren’t an everyday occurrence.”
Kevin also said, from their perspective, there really aren’t any disadvantages in being an agent of DATCP.
“We don’t see any. The benefits far outweigh the disadvantages. We do have the full support of DATCP leadership taking on this for the long term. So, we will have to be able to assure that we, in the Health Department, have the capacity to effectively run the program. It’s a large program for us to take on and so making sure that we are able to run it smoothly is one of the disadvantages to us.”
“We may also become aware of some establishments or facilities that aren’t permitted, that really should be. So, some people may not see that as advantageous to themselves, but really, it’s not a huge disadvantage in getting them licenses and moving forward with them.”
Kevin went into a little more detail on how this program would work.
“The Health Department becomes the agent, so it’s the whole department. For the department to become an agent, at least one of the employees has to have a Registered Sanitarian Certification. Whoever holds that certification is the one that issues the licenses, so they would be able to supervise an individual to do the inspections, but, if that individual doing the inspection wasn’t certified, then they couldn’t issue the license. So, the department becomes the agent and the employee with the certification issues licenses and would, generally, also do inspections.”
He also talked about the response they saw from the forums they held in Neillsville on July 17th and Owen on July 19th.
“We did get positive feedback from the individuals who were able to attend. And they asked some very good questions that are very relevant to our population, our community here. So, overall, it was positive feedback and they were in favor of it, but they did have some questions that were tricky and difficult to answer. And so it was great that they came because that also prepared us to have a better response plan for those situations. The ones we’re kind of referring to are things like people that are selling at farmer’s markets and what needs a permit and what doesn’t. Or those roadside stands where you see they sell eggs or fruits and vegetables; does that need a permit? And so we were able to answer those questions for those community members and resolve long standing questions that people didn’t have an answer to before."
Kevin also talked about the timeline for this project to be completed.
“Ideally, if everything goes perfectly, we would be starting in June of next year. We would be issuing the licenses and doing the inspections. Our contract with DATCP would begin a little bit earlier than that, which would be April of 2019. So, we’d be up in running in June of 2019.”
Kevin and Bob ended our interview talking again about the benefits of the program and that this program has existed for some time, Clark County would simply have more local control over it.
Kevin: “Well, I think this is beyond the realm of public health. I think it’s good for the community. It’s supporting local businesses and giving them a better opportunity to manage their own facilities because we are right here in the community with them, available to them to answer questions and help them better run their organizations.”
Bob: “I would just reiterate and emphasize that this is a long standing, existing program that DATCP currently provides. And so what we’re really looking to do is, in effect, inherit this program, but with the full support of DATCP leadership and the Clark County Board of Health.”
Kevin: “So, this is nothing new. It would really just be changing hands from the state DATCP program to us."
If you have any questions or concerns regarding the Clark County Health Department becoming an agent to DATCP, you can contact their department at 715-743-5105.
Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.