PORT ANGELES — Clallam County commissioners have approved the distribution of $217,558 in federal COVID-19 relief funding to Port Angeles medical and mental health clinics.
Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding will be split between Peninsula Behavioral Health ($177,337) and Olympic Peninsula Community Clinic ($40,221) to fund operating costs incurred during the COVID-19 emergency, commissioners decided Tuesday.
Peninsula Behavioral Health will use $87,636 to cover telehealth expenses.
The mental health clinic had no significant prior experience with telehealth. Infrastructure upgrades included computer and software upgrades, additional monitors and stands, webcams and headphones, and the procurement of a HIPAA-compliant Zoom license.
Another $59,832 will cover an increase in paid sick and paid family leave plus COVID-19-related family leave to quarantine or take care of children if there was no daycare or school available.
Additional expenses included $11,200 for temporary health screening expenses to screen employees and clinic visitors; $11,001 for personal protective equipment, including masks, face shields and other recommended medical supplies, and $7,767 for increased sanitization expenses.
Olympic Peninsula Community Clinic will use more than half of its grant funding ($21,159) on expenses incurred while “standing up” its telehealth infrastructure.
Another $8,000 will cover hazard pay for employees who come into contact with members of the public known or suspected to have COVID-19; $6,083 will be used for medical staff outreach to homeless shelter residents; $3,399 was provided for food box distribution to medically fragile clients, and $1,280 in PPE and related supplies.
Commissioners also approved a year-long extension of an existing contract through Dec. 31, 2021, with Correctional Healthcare Companies LLC to provide nursing services to Clallam County jail inmates.
The compensation amount will rise to $19,218.36 annually, an increase of 6.2 percent based on the Consumer Price Index for Urban Consumers – West for Medical Care Component.
Clallam County also will be reimbursed by Trout Unlimited for the design of three fish barrier removal projects in the Sol Duc River watershed east of Sappho.
Two are located under Wisen Creek Road and the other under Swede Road.
All three existing structures are on county roads just upstream from a fish barrier at U.S. Highway 101 that is slated for replacement by the state Department of Transportation in 2023.
No fixed dollar amount was provided for the design work, but Trout Unlimited is expected to use some of the $137,896 in grant funding it received in December 2019 from the state Salmon Recovery Funding Board on the project.
Clallam County Charter Review Commission Chair Sue Erzen also read letters of appreciation to Clallam County Board of Commissioners Clerk Loni Gores and Deputy Prosecutor Elizabeth Stanley for their efforts in assisting the Charter Review Commission’s work in 2020.
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Sports reporter Michael Carman can be contacted at 360-406-0674 or mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.
