NRCHS receives grant from state

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LUVERNE — While it isn’t enough to cover even half of the expenses the county has incurred in its response to a tuberculosis outbreak in Nobles County this summer, a $10,000 grant from the Minnesota Department of Health will help alleviate some of the budget woes.

Brad Meyer, director of Nobles-Rock Community Health Services, told board members Wednesday afternoon that the money was offered as part of funds the state agency had to distribute by the end of the year.

“It isn’t much, but every little bit will help,” Meyer told board members.

Public Health Nurse Barb Navara reported that the last TB diagnosis was made in October. She and her staff continue to work with individuals with latent TB, which includes monthly treatment.

Navara said four individuals under treatment for latent TB have disappeared and she cannot give them their medication. The concern is that people who don’t get the full treatment, which takes about nine months, may contract a more resistant strain of TB in the future.

In other business, the board:

l Reviewed a revision of the proposed changes to the third floor of the Nobles County Government Center. Plans are to flip the NRCHS offices with administration, which will put the administration offices adjacent to the commissioner’s board room. The changes will be made to provide a second exit to the board room in response to safety concerns.

l Learned that the Women, Infant and Children (WIC) clinic plans to go paperless by the end of the year. Also in WIC, staff members are reaching out to the Burmese population to explain the services that are provided.

l Accepted a $5,000 mini-grant from the Minnesota Department of Education, which will be used to partner with area schools in the sex education programming.

Tags: news, noblesrockcommunityhealthservices, nrchs, tb, tuberculosis