Minutes Health & Human Services Board Meeting
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MINUTES HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES BOARD MEETING ROOM #1, OUTAGAMIE COUNTY ADMINISTRATION BUILDING TUESDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2016 MEMBERS PRESENT: Patrick Meyer, Vice-Chairperson; Dan Gabrielson, Secretary; *Justin Krueger; Richard Gosse; Jerry Iverson; Christine Lamers; Keith Suprise; and Cathy Thompson MEMBERS EXCUSED: Barney Lemanski, Chairperson; and Veronica Flower OTHERS PRESENT: Rosemary Davis, Director; John Rathman, Deputy Director; *Morgan Hinkley, Brewster Village Administrator; *Megan Vandehey, Brewster Village Student Intern; *Brad Dunlap, Department of Criminal Investigations, Narcotics Bureau; *Chris Wardlow, Substance Abuse Prevention Specialist; Mary Dorn, Public Health Officer/Manager; *Brian Bezier, Clinical Director/Manager of MH/AODA; and Linda Rasmussen, Management Assistant *Attended a portion of the meeting. Patrick Meyer called the meeting to order at 4:45 p.m. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: MOTION – Keith Suprise moved approval of the November 8, 2016 minutes. Seconded by Dan Gabrielson. (7 ayes, 0 nays, 1 abstention) Motion carried. PUBLIC COMMENT ON AGENDA ITEMS: None BREWSTER VILLAGE UPDATE AND TABLE OF ORGANIZATION CHANGE: Morgan Hinkley indicated that Brewster Village currently has 2 Administrative Secretaries sharing one full-time position, each working every other week. They are both retiring, which provided an opportunity to evaluate the structure of the position. Various back-up options were looked at, since the two functioned as each other’s back-ups. Additional staff were trained in various duties and discussion was held whether the position could be part time; however, in reviewing a time study and evaluating all of the tasks and how much time is spent on each of those, it was determined that there is a need for the position to be filled in a full-time capacity. The question of whether the position should remain a job share was also discussed. In reviewing this structure, it was discovered that every Monday that each employee worked, they spent a significant amount of their day catching up on the week that they were not there. Other departments within Brewster Village as well as the county were contacted, especially the Human Resource Department. As identified in the Job Description, this position includes many personnel-related functions (background checks, phone screens, drafting of employment offer letters, disciplinary actions, etc.), and it was determined that these responsibilities are best suited to remain as a Brewster Village function. When taking all of these considerations into account, it was determined that one person in this position, with multiple back-ups, would be most suitable. In doing so, there will actually be a cost savings of approximately $13,000, partly because both individuals that were in the position are in Page 1 of 6 the middle to top of the wage scale, and this would also allow budgeting for benefits for one person rather than two. MOTION – Jerry Iverson moved approval to delete 2 part-time Administrative Secretary positions and add 1 full-time Administrative Coordinator position at Brewster Village. Seconded by Keith Suprise. (8 ayes, 0 nays) Motion carried. DRAFT RESOLUTION NO.: HS.7—2016-17 – APPROVE VARIOUS BUDGET TRANSFERS IN THE 2016 BREWSTER VILLAGE BUDGET: Members received in their packets a draft resolution to approve various Brewster Village budgetary transfers, as detailed by Morgan Hinkley, Brewster Village Administrator, at the November 8, 2016 Health and Human Services Board meeting. MOTION: Keith Suprise moved approval of Draft Resolution No.: HS.7—2016-17, to authorize and approve various budget transfers in the 2016 Brewster Village budget. Seconded by Dan Gabrielson. (8 ayes; 0 nays) Motion carried. UPDATE ON HEROIN AND METH EPIDEMIC: Special Agent in Charge, Brad Dunlap, Project Director of the Lake Winnebago Area MEG Unit, provided members with a presentation regarding the Heroin and Meth epidemic. The Lake Winnebago Area MEG (Metropolitan Enforcement Group) Unit provides services to Outagamie, Winnebago, Fond du Lac and Calumet counties. The agencies that contribute personnel for the MEG unit include the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Department, Outagamie County Sheriff’s Department, Division of Criminal Investigation, Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Department, Calumet County Sheriff’s Department, Kaukauna Police Department, City of Appleton Police Department, Lake Winnebago Area Drug Unit, Oshkosh Police Department, Menasha Police Department, Fond du Lac Police Department, Neenah Police Department, Grand Chute Police Department, Town of Menasha Police Department, North Fond du Lac Police Department, and the New London Police Department. The Grand Chute Police Department, North Fond du Lac Police Department and New London Police Department have part time officers in the unit; all others have full time representatives in the unit. The MEG Unit is currently at full staff. Fox Valley Metro Police Department does not have representation in the unit at this time. The unit makes between 450 and 600 arrests per year, about 80-85% of which are felony drug arrests. If it were possible to make heroin go away, the people who are addicted to the substance would find some other opiate drug – probably a prescription drug – to fill that void. Papaver Somniferum (also known as the Opium Poppy) is a species of plant from which raw Opium is derived. This is the only subspecies of the poppy plant that produces sufficient quantities of raw Opium. Opium can be synthesized into Morphine and then synthesized into Heroin. There are many varieties of the poppy plant, and it is very difficult to tell them apart, but most are not Opium producing. There are three geopolitical regions where Opium comes from: Southeast Asia – The Golden Triangle (Laos, Thailand, and Burma) The Golden Crescent (Afghanistan and Pakistan) South America (Peru, Columbia, and Mexico) Page 2 of 6 Opium is imported into the United States fairly regularly, but it is not considered a “cash drug” such as Heroin or Cocaine, which is sold for profit. Opium is generally imported for medicinal purposes (mostly relegated to the Hmong population). Heroin is a semi-synthetic. Morphine is produced from Opium, and Heroin is produced from Morphine. In the case of Opium, this is all done in one of the three above-mentioned regions; we do not have Heroin labs in Wisconsin. Opium has been used for medicinal purposes by many cultures. In the 1970’s, most Heroin was coming from Southeast Asia and was at very low purity (5% or lower). In the 1990’s, most Heroin was coming from Southwest Asia and was at a very high purity (80%). The higher the purity, the more dangerous a drug is with a higher potential for overdose. Higher purity levels allow individuals to snort Heroin versus injecting it to get the same “high” feeling. In the 1990’s, the narcotic drug of choice was OxyContin, because it was very pure, was easy to obtain, and did almost exactly the same thing that Heroin does. In April of 2010, the producers of OxyContin released a reformulated OxyContin, decreasing the purity to 20% or less. The Columbians knew that the Cocaine market was saturated in the United States but felt they had not yet tapped the potential of Opiates. They made a conscious decision to ramp down the production of Cocaine and began producing huge quantities of Heroin; therefore, Crack addicts switched to Heroin because it was much more readily available. Unlike Cocaine and historical Marijuana distribution, Heroin trade is relegated to much smaller quantities that are getting smuggled across the border. From a packaging perspective, approximately three out of four seizures on the street are packaged in “bins” or “bindles”, usually in foil with a very unique fold so they can use the foil as their cooker. The other one out of four are packaged in “gem packs”. A tenth of a gram is the average dose that is sold on the street. Unlike powdered Cocaine where a tenth of a gram is typically the quantity used at one time, the quantity of Heroin used at one time depends on the user’s physical tolerance to Heroin and the purity of the Heroin. A tenth of a gram of Heroin typically costs $40 on the street. Black Tar Heroin is a product of Mexico, which has not been seen much recently. One of the attractions is that it can be smoked or injected and is a little cheaper and a little less pure. Heroin is one of the few drugs that both dealers and users may mix with other drugs that contain Diphenhydramine Hydrochloride, such as Dormin or Benadryl. Heroin irritates nerve endings in the skin. Diphenhydramine Hydrochloride is an antihistamine and is mixed with Heroin to combat this side effect. Some individuals mix Black Tar Heroin with Tylenol PM to create what is known as “Cheese”. This helps break-up the Black Tar Heroin so it is more easily dissolved. Heroin is a Central Nervous System depressant which slows breathing and heart rate. When Heroin is first taken (in the first 3 minutes) a user gets a “rush” or “high” and a very intense feeling of wellbeing. Once the initial “rush” or “high” wears off, users become sleepy or lethargic and begin to slur their words and may even become comatose if they’ve overdosed. If they are functional, they may be seen scratching their skin and staring off into space, and their reactions are slow. Pupil dilation is very slow and typically below 2.9 mm in size (known as pinpoint pupils) if someone is using a narcotic. To avoid noticeable needle (or “track”) marks, some users will use injection sites such as between the toes, the genitalia area, the scalp, or under the tongue. Page 3 of 6 Heroin is actually a Morphine high. When someone takes Morphine, their blood-brain barrier is very good at filtering out most of the Morphine. Typically, only about 3% of the Morphine is actually getting into the brain.