To: Board of Supervisors
From: DHHS: Public Health
Agenda Section: Consent
Vote Requirement: Majority
SUBJECT:
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Life Jacket Donations to Loan Stations to Promote Public Safety in and Around the Waterways of Humboldt County
RECOMMENDATION(S):
Recommendation
That the Board of Supervisors:
1. Find that the purchasing of life jackets to donate to local businesses or agencies who agree to loan them to the public for free is in the public interest and serves the public purpose of protecting and promoting public health by reducing the risk of drowning; and
2. Authorize the Director of Public Health or their designated representative to make the determination to gift life jackets as needed and appropriate to businesses or agencies.
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SOURCE OF FUNDING:
Public Health Funds (1175-434)
DISCUSSION:
From 2010 to 2020, forty-one people died as a result of drowning in Humboldt County. Local waterways are very cold and have swift currents, making it impossible to stay afloat without a life jacket in many situations. Most drownings could have been prevented if a life jacket had been worn by the victim. In recent years, Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS)-Public Health has publicized the availability of life jackets through unstaffed loan stations located at or near many of the county's most popular water recreation locations.
In lieu of this distribution method, DHHS-Public Health is requesting your Board's approval to provide life jackets to local businesses or agencies willing to loan them to the public at no cost on a first-come, first-serve basis. These stations will offer various sizes of life jackets from infant to adult in limited quantities, to be replenished by DHHS Public Health when funding is available. The goals of this program are to increase life jacket availability in the community while decreasing staff time and involvement.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
Expenditures (1175, 434)
FY23-24 Projected
FY24-25 Projected
FY25-26 P...
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