Terri Hansen of the Pulaski County Health Department informed the Commissioners this week that she has received a letter from the entire health board requesting permission to hire the current part-time nurse as full-time, which would help tremendously with the amount of work they are now required to do. Last week, the Health Department began charging an administrative fee for vaccinations and other shots, and this has been generating roughly $200 per day. With this new income, hiring the employee full-time should not be a problem, especially since the additional cost of the employee would be covered by the Master Tobacco grant money, and the only cost to the county would be to cover her benefits.
Hansen also requested $3,000 to purchase “mosquito wipes,” which are in popular demand due to the large number of mosquitoes that have been annoying residents. Hansen said that she has had many calls from people asking whether or not they will be supplying mosquito wipes for fairs and other events, and mentioned that Pulaski County is currently the only county is the state that distributes mosquito wipes.
In addition, Hansen mentioned the possibility of looking into installing a credit/debit machine in the health department to receive payments by card. Many people call in to pay, or don’t have cash, and Hansen feels that a credit/debit machine would be a great convenience for taxpayers.
The Commissioners approved her request for the purchase of mosquito wipes, and gave her their approval to request the Council to allow them to hire the nurse full-time. Hansen will also be looking into possibilities for accepting credit and debit cards.
