2018/11/07 Council Agenda Packet

�v al' SNOHOMISH ► i HEALTH DISTRICT —;�_r ' WWW.SNOHD.ORG Administration Division SNOHOMISH HEALTH DISTRICT RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF HEALTH RESOLUTION NUMBER: 18-20 RESOLUTION SUBJECT: WASHINGTON STATE LEGISLATURE SUPPORT OF FUNDING FOR FOUNDATIONAL PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICES WHEREAS, theY ublic health system in Washington provides the foundation for the larger health framework, p working to prevent illness and disease while supporting the work of community partners; and WHEREAS, tracking, responding to, and preventing costly food and water contamination and disease outbreaks is essential to protecting the public's health; and WHEREAS, state and local public health officials,together with local leaders, have identified an agreed-upon set of foundational public health,services that should be available for every Washingtonian; and WHEREAS, after a century of increasing life expectancies, these gains are threatened by new and more complex diseases and emerging threats, putting today's children at risk of becoming the first generation to have shorter life expectancies than their parents; and WHEREAS, public health's ability to address the social and community conditions could improve health, life expectancy, and quality of life, while also reducing related health care costs and productivity losses; and WHEREAS, the public's well-being is also threatened by public health's inability to meet its basic responsibility to provide these foundational services due to changes in its funding structure, complex and new diseases, and growing populations; and WHEREAS, the motor vehicle excise tax was repealed in 2000, leaving the public health system without an adequate and sustainable funding source; and WHEREAS, the Washington State Legislature made an initial investment of$12 million for foundational public health services in the 2017-2019 biennium, representing a one-time, partial restoration of cuts to public health services that were made during the Great Recession; and WHERAS, due to this funding, the Snohomish Health District and its partners were able to quickly respond, contain, and stop a measles outbreak in 2018 before it was spread to the community; and WHEREAS, the Snohomish Health District used a portion of those dollars to temporarily bolster its prevention, tracking, and response efforts centered on sexually transmitted infections—in many cases, higher than the state average-- including new partnerships with local military installations and tribal nations; and WHEREAS, without securing ongoing, stable, and dedicated funding for foundational public health services, our communities are left unprepared for emergencies like the SR 530 Slide; vulnerable to the spread of communicable diseases like measles, mumps, and STDs; at risk for food, water, and environmental health 3020 Rucker. Avenue, Suite 306 ■ Everett, WA '2:201-3900 IN ph: 425.339.5210 ■ fax: 425.339.5263