Commissioners took a closer look at preventing tuberculosis at their meeting Tuesday morning, following a case a few months ago
Though unlikely, if tuberculosis were to hit Athens County it would “spread like wildfire.”
At least that’s what Ann Fugate, a member of the Athens County Tuberculosis Board, said at the Athens County Commissioners meeting Tuesday morning, where officials allocated about $8,000 to the Board.
A fourth of that funding will be used for Dr. James Gaskell, health commissioner for the Athens City-County Health Department, to receive additional training in pulmonology, the medical specialty that deals with the respiratory tract.
$6,000 of that funding will also be pushed toward “direct therapy” measures that would ensure local patients take their TB medication.
Fugate said that despite tuberculosis being a fairly uncommon disease, it would only take one case to knock the County off its feet.
“Our main goal in Athens is screening,” she said. “We want to make sure that people don’t get it.”
One strain of the disease, multidrug resistant tuberculosis, which is drug resistant and lethal if left untreated, Fugate said, is especially worrisome.
According to Fugate, Athens saw a case of MDR-TB just a few months ago, but health officials were able to effectively contain the disease.
Commissioners also mentioned Upgrade Athens, an energy conservation project that begins in 2015.
Upgrade Athens is the city’s hand in competing in Georgetown University-lead energy conservation contest, said Commissioner Chris Chmiel.
He added that Athens is competing with 51 other communities in an attempt to win $5 million grand prize.
Chmiel said he has high hopes for Upgrade Athens, and believes Athens has a good chance of winning the contest.
However, the county is in need of public support for the project.
“If we’re gonna win this thing we need to get everyone involved,” Chmiel said.
Chmiel is hoping for Athens County buildings to make renovations that will help conserve energy, such making the switch to LED lightbulbs.
“Those mundane things are what will really make a difference,” Chmiel said. “It costs money to do these things, but there is a return in that investment.”
Athens Emergency Medical Services officials were also present at Tuesday’s meeting, following what EMS Chief Rick Callebs said were a “handful of accidents this year,” to discuss the possibility of a mandatory driving class for all Athens EMS employees.
Callebs also mentioned that their department will be implementing mandatory class for harassment and hostile work environment behaviors.
The meeting then went into executive session to further discuss the ongoing investigation of an EMS employee.
“I’m not sure if it will end up being a discipline issue, some things need to be determined before action is taken,” said County Commissioner Lenny Eliason.
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