LISBON — The Columbiana County Health District is working to make more residents aware of the services the district provides.

“We continue to hear that people don’t know what we do,” Health Commissioner Dr. Wes Vins said.

Vins made the comment after the board agreed during Wednesday’s meeting to appropriate carryover in the general fund for $20,000 for advertising. He said one of the considerations may be an insert in the newspaper, there’s an ad running in a special section and there’s a lot of information on the health district website at www.columbiana-health.org. There’s also information on the district’s social media page.

A sample of a flyer with a QR code was shown to board members, who suggested including the phone number and email address, too, noting an aging population may not know how to use a QR code and prefers talking on the phone. Board Vice President Dr. Kimberly Jackson said, “A lot of people want to talk to a live person.”

In other business, Vins said the health district received some Medicaid brochures to distribute, adding “there are a lot of kids in this community that don’t have health insurance.”

Health Services Administrator Amanda Amato gave board members an update on measles and said there are still no cases in Columbiana County or surrounding counties, with the latest case she believed in Cuyahoga County. She said the best way to protect against the virus is with the measles vaccine, which the district has available for children and adults. Call the office at 330-424-0272 to make an appointment. She also reported receiving information from the Ohio Department of Health regarding chronic diseases which will be distributed during clinics and when residents visit the health department.

For action items, the board awarded the contract for the latest Water Pollution Control Loan Funds project for septic system installations to Advanced Excavating & Septic Services, LLC for $33,227. The other two bidders included Bruderly Excavating for $42,035 and Colian’s Multi Services, LLC for $34,500.

The board also issued orders to abate an existing sewage issue at two properties on 18th Street Heights, Wellsville where there are two parcels using one system. Apparently, there’s a neighbor dispute, so Environmental Health Director Laura Fauss said both will be issued board orders to try to get the situation resolved. The orders were issued against Michael Daniels of Wellsville and Jesse and Kathleen Sands of Ravenna.

Fauss was asked about a board order tabled at the last meeting for a property on Hibbets Mill Road, Wellsville, and she said the property was cleaned up so a board order was no longer necessary.

The board approved a short-term food service agreement for Carroll County for Columbiana County to help out while someone’s on leave. The contract takes affect April 1 and continues through July for technical support. Carroll County will pay for billed serves at $60 per hour not to exceed $9,000.

Carryover was appropriated from workforce funds for $5,600 to pay Public Health Accreditation Board accreditation fees.

The meeting of the Health District Advisory Council, made up of representatives from townships and villages served by the county health district, will be held at 6 p.m. March 2 at the district headquarters on state Route 45, Lisbon.

The next meeting of the health board will be 4:30 p.m. March 18.

mgreier@mojonews.com