Tuesday’s Board Meeting was full of important presentations and decisions for the County and fortunately, we made it through all of the items with relatively minor disagreements.
Board Approves 5 Countywide Goals for Next 5 Years: Last year, we began developing what I believe is the County’s 1st strategic plan. During the fall, we received input from almost 2,000 of you through a robust survey and hosted 4 in-person visioning sessions. Our consultant presented a summary of what you all shared at our last meeting in December.
Building off that presentation, input from County department heads, and an understanding of current County activities and finances, the Strategic Planning Ad Hoc, consisting of myself, Supervisor Long, and 3 staff, proposed 5 goals for full Board consideration: (listed in no particular order)
- Pursue development of a Corrections and Rehabilitation Campus
- Increase access to effective health care and behavioral health services including through participation in community efforts towards the addition of a regional medical school in Shasta County.
- Significantly reduce the risk of destructive wildfires in Shasta County
- Develop comprehensive general plan, zoning plan, code enforcement ordinance, and policy updates and streamline the development process in Shasta County
- Increase engagement, outreach, and conversation to enhance trust among the Public in Shasta County
The Board unanimously approved all 5 without adjustment, effectively setting the direction for the County for the next 5 years! This is a big step toward enabling us to accomplish high impact goals for the County that we can’t complete in a single year.
Our next step is to form committees for each of the goals, which will develop ~2-page plans explaining how we hope to achieve these goals, how we’ll track progress, and how we’ll fund the plans. We’ll present these plans to the full Board in mid-April.
Board Approves Letter of Support for Continued Medical School Exploration: The County worked with a consultant for 6 months last year to quantify our physician shortage and explore ways to close the gap. During the tail end of that process, Dr. Dhanuka – who has spearheaded this from the beginning – formed the Rural Northern California Medical Education Consortium to take the next steps in determining how to start a medical school in Shasta County.
On Tuesday, Dr. Dhanuka, Simpson University President Norm Hall, and Consortium member Irene Salter shared that the group has decided to pursue the development of an osteopathic (DO) medical school in Shasta County under Simpson’s umbrella. They are requesting letters of support to strengthen their chances of receiving grants or government funding.
I remain unsure that developing a medical school through our local colleges is a better strategy than opening a regional branch campus of UC Davis Medical School. However, starting a medical school is only a possibility if there is someone willing to do the work. If Simpson is willing to do the work, then it makes sense to give them a chance.
I also remain concerned that we won’t be able to provide a sufficient number of clinical rotations to satisfy the requirements of the 3rd and 4th years of medical school. But I am encouraged that the Consortium is aware of this challenge and has highlighted the need to continue to build our existing residency and fellowship programs.
If the Consortium and Simpson can pull this off, it will be a great win for our healthcare and our economy.
While the Board unanimously approved this letter of support, the Consortium will likely be back to ask for significant funding – something on which individual supervisors have already expressed different opinions.
Youth Substance Use Prevention Group Makes Good Progress: Last summer, the Board committed $4M over 4 years to 2 youth-serving organizations to reduce the number of young people using drugs in Shasta County. The group committed to share updates every 6 months so the Board could assess their progress and re-evaluate the commitment.
I have compiled a table that compares their progress at roughly 8 months (and 6 months into the school year) to the group’s stated goals – something I hope the group does next time. I’ve shaded each goal with my assessment of where they are relative to their target:
- Red = behind
- Yellow = on track to hit baseline, but not to demonstrate growth/increase
- Green = on track or exceeding target
In addition to these 4-year outcomes, the group had named several project-related goals:
Overall, I believe the group has made good progress in the first 6-8 months and I look forward to continued impact.
Feedback, questions, ideas? Let me know!