Board of Health signs APRN, pharmacist and milk-depot agreements and OKs student placements

Sitting as the Board of Health, the Coffey County Commission approved a suite of routine public-health contracts on May 4. The board authorized the chairman to sign an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse services agreement with Ashley Bing (APRN) at $80 per hour to provide family planning and clinic services on an as-needed basis. The board also approved a pharmacist-in-charge services agreement with Eric Peterson, priced at $100 per quarter to perform quarterly audits and maintain compliance with the Kansas Board of Pharmacy.

Commissioners authorized a donor milk depot laboratory services agreement with the Oklahoma Mother's Milk Bank, enabling local breast-milk donor screening (HEP, HIV, syphilis, HTLV) and on-site drop-off with shipping and processing coordinated by the milk bank. Staff said the health department will use LabCorp for tests and that donor processing is free to the donor; the milk bank will supply freezer storage and shipping to their processing center.

Finally, commissioners approved an affiliation agreement with Washburn University for registered nursing clinical rotations at the health department. The affiliation requires student vaccination, HIPAA training and proof of liability insurance from the university; the county will not charge clinical-hour fees. All health-board motions were approved by voice vote.

Health staff emphasized these are operational arrangements to maintain clinic capacity, support training, and expand local access to services. The board's actions were taken as routine contract approvals at the Board of Health session and were recorded in the county minutes.