Winner offered health position

CELINA - A contract is pending with a new medical director for the local health department.

Dr. Jonathan Winner, 33, who operates a family practice in the Galleria in Celina, was informally chosen last month by the board for the part-time position.

"We're working on a contract with him now," Mercer County-Celina City Health Commissioner Amy Poor told the newspaper after the regular board meeting Wednesday.

Winner, as well as his wife, Dr. Michelle Winner, is part of the Mercer Health network. The couple and their young children reside in Coldwater.

Winner graduated from medical school at Ohio University in 2009 and obtained his license to practice in January 2012.

The medical director position was vacated after longtime public health official Dr. Philip Masser resigned at the board meeting in August. He had served the health department in various positions for 31 years.

The board solicited applications for the medical director position on a county website.

"Only two applied," Poor said.

The other candidate was Dr. Matthew Riesen of St. Marys, who also is a member of the Mercer Health network.

The board is expected to formally hire Winner at its next meeting at noon Nov. 18 in the first-floor conference room of the Mercer County Central Services Building, Celina.

The county medical director helps to oversee public health issues such as immunizations and illnesses and provides direct support to the health department staff.

In other news, the board is seeking two new members to bring the total number of those serving on the board to seven.

"We're trying to get to seven to make sure we have a quorum on those days when some members of the board aren't available," Poor said.

Board members must be Mercer County residents and each serves a term of five years. At least one board member is required to be a licensed physician; Dr. Ed Hosbach currently fills that requirement.

Other current board members include Ted Bertke, Diane Lefeld, Jim Moran and Pete Hierholzer.

New board members must be approved by the health department's district advisory council, which is mainly comprised of township trustees and meets annually in the spring.

Poor said instead of waiting several more months for the March meeting, a letter with the names of candidates will be sent to each township so trustees can vote at their individual meetings. A timeframe to hire new members was not given.

Poor stressed that anyone in the county who may be interested in serving on the board should call her at the health department at 419-586-3251.

In other business Wednesday, board members,

• approved three new positions - emergency management coordinator, secretary and a replacement registered nurse. The coordinator and RN would work 48 hours per two-week pay period and the secretary would be scheduled 40 hours per pay period, Poor explained.

The board also gave Poor permission to post the positions for hire.

The addition of the positions will increase the overall number of staff hours but have little effect on payroll dollars due to entry level wages for new hires and a decrease in hours for some current positions, Poor said.

• learned from county sanitarian/accreditation coordinator Jason Menchhofer very little improvement has been seen at a property at 822 Sycamore St., Celina, where garbage and solid waste allegedly were discovered in an outbuilding. The owner of the property, Dwight C. Payton, of Dayton, last month was given an Oct. 12 deadline to clean up the site.

Menchhofer said he will talk to the county prosecutor's office about taking action against Payton.

• learned Lefeld signed a waiver to serve as a nonpaid volunteer board member. As a registered nurse who retired and was rehired at Mercer Health, Lefeld cannot be paid by two entities that administer Public Employee Retirement System benefits, she said.

• heard second reading of newly amended household sewage rules.

• was asked to review several proposed increases for environmental fees, which include sewage system, campground, water system and other types of permits. If approved by the end of the year, the new fees would become effective in 2016.

• approved the health department's Family and Medical Leave Act and a return check policy. Poor said she is still working on new board of health bylaws and hopes to have them ready for review by the board at its November meeting.

•learned 598 flu vaccines were administered during a drive-thru clinic at the county fairgrounds on Oct. 6.

Poor called the event "absolutely amazing" and told the board the event went very smoothly. The average wait time to receive a vaccination was 21 minutes.

The staff also conducted a medical emergency drill during the outdoor clinic and received high ratings on performance from out-of-county officials who observed.