To: Board of Supervisors
From: DHHS: Administration
Agenda Section: Consent
SUBJECT:
title
Allocation of One (1) Full-Time Equivalent Departmental Information Systems Analyst Position
end
RECOMMENDATION(S):
Recommendation
That the Board of Supervisors:
1. Allocate of one (1) full-time equivalent Departmental Information Systems Analyst position (salary range 422, class 0762) in budget unit 400 effective upon the beginning of the pay period immediately following approval.
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SOURCE OF FUNDING:
Public Health Fund (1175)
DISCUSSION:
The Humboldt County Public Health Laboratory (“HCPHL”) has been responding to the COVID-19 pandemic since the first case was reported in February 2020. During that time, HCPHL’s utilization of technological devices, systems, software, online applications and networks has significantly grown in direct correlation to increasing testing, whole genome sequencing, data reporting and other activities related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On Nov. 3, 2020, the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors (“Board”) authorized several grant funded positions and a supplemental budget, which included Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity Enhancing Detection (“ELCED”) funding that was allocated to the Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services - Public Health (“DHHS - Public Health) by the California Department of Public Health (“CDPH”) as part of the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act. ELC Enhancing Detection funding supports a number of activities crucial to COVID-19 response, including, without limitation, a significant increase of testing capacity from twenty-five (25) samples per day to nearly three hundred (300) samples per day, software upgrades to electronically accept and send testing information and the cost of laboratory testing supplies and support staff needed to manage the increased volume of work. ELCED funding also supported the development of the North Coast Regional Testing Partnership between the HCPHL, United Indian Health Services and the County of Del Norte.
On May 18, 2021, the Board approved a supplemental budget for Six Million One Hundred Fourteen Thousand Two Hundred Ninety-Two Dollars ($6,114,292.00) in ELCED Expansion funding that was allocated to allocated to DHHS - Public Health by CDPH. ELCED Expansion included the ability to spend funding on a broader range of activities, including, without limitation, genomic sequencing, and allowed for the extension of ELCED funded activities through July 31, 2023, as appropriate. The above-referenced ELCED Expansion allocation also included funding for a Departmental Informational Systems Analyst position to allow for the provision of technological support, including, without limitation, software, online application and health information exchange interface implementation and maintenance, to the HCPHL.
Accordingly, DHHS - Public Health Branch recommends that the Board allocate one (1) full-time equivalent Departmental Information Systems Analyst position (salary range 422, class 0762) in budget unit 400 effective upon the beginning of the pay period immediately following approval.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The estimated cost to allocate one (1) full-time equivalent Departmental Information Systems Analyst position for the remainder of fiscal year 2021-2022 is Sixty-Seven Thousand Four Hundred Thirty-Four Dollars and Ninety-Eight Cents ($67,434.98). There are sufficient ELCED funding appropriations in DHHS - Public Health budget unit 1175-400 to accommodate the recommended allocation for the remainder of fiscal year 2021-2022. As a result, approval of the recommended allocation will not impact the Humboldt County General Fund.
STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK:
The recommended action supports the Board of Supervisors’ Strategic Framework by protecting vulnerable populations, creating opportunities for improved safety and health and providing community-appropriate levels of services.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
None
ALTERNATIVES TO STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS:
The Board may choose not to approve the allocation of one (1) full-time equivalent Departmental Information Systems Analyst position. However, this alternative is not recommended as it would not allow DHHS - Public Health to meet certain ELCED Expansion funding requirements.
ATTACHMENTS:
None
PREVIOUS ACTION/REFERRAL:
Board Order No.: N/A
Meeting of: N/A
File No.: N/A