Price County HHS Board Approves Opioid Settlement Funding Pl

The Price County Health and Human Services Board approved a list of opioid settlement funding recommendations, earned state recognition as a Level 2 health department, and heard warnings about potential federal cuts to rural transit at its regular meeting September 9.

Board Chair Paula Hodek presided over the meeting, held at the Price County Courthouse. All board members were present except Patty, who joined remotely online.

Opioid Settlement: $286,000 Over 20 Years

Last updated: September 2026

The board voted unanimously to advance a spending plan for the county’s share of a national opioid lawsuit settlement, sending it to the full County Board for likely consideration in October.

Nick, a county staff member who presented the plan, explained that Price County is slated to receive approximately $286,000 over 20 years as part of a class-action lawsuit against opioid manufacturers and pharmacies, with Purdue Pharma being the largest. The county has received $27,945 so far, including pre-payments from some defendants. Going forward, the county anticipates between $10,000 and $15,000 annually for roughly 14 more years.

A county-level opioid committee — comprising more than a dozen representatives from schools, hospitals, medical providers, public health, children and youth services, and law enforcement — met four times to develop the recommendations. The state released a 200-page guide on allowable uses, with the key restriction that funds cannot supplant existing spending. All allocations must fund new or expanded services.

Priority areas include:

Public health and children/youth programming through the health department and Children’s Waiver/Comprehensive Community Services units
Behavioral health program additions presented by staff member John
School-based education — funding for speakers and presenters on drug abuse prevention, available to individual schools or district-wide
His House of Hope — a male-only drug rehabilitation program that requested specific funding; equal funding was set aside for a future female-equivalent program if one is established
Transportation and housing assistance — a grant program to help individuals get to treatment programs and stay housed during programming, addressing a challenge specific to rural communities
Law enforcement drug testing equipment — a contactless machine to test seized drugs for fentanyl without exposing officers to risk, centrally located for all county law enforcement agencies

The board approved a motion by Joel Baratka, seconded by Robert Kopisch, to move the recommendations forward. A formal resolution will be brought to the board next month before heading to the County Board.

Kopisch asked how long the funding would continue. Nick confirmed the county has roughly 14 years remaining on the payout. He noted that while Price County’s allocation is modest compared to counties receiving over $1 million — some of which are building full rehabilitation centers — even pooling eight to ten neighboring counties wouldn’t be enough to subsidize a regional rehab facility.

Level 2 Health Department Certification

Hodek read a letter from State Health Officer and Administrator Paula Tran congratulating Price County Health and Human Services for achieving Level 2 Health Department certification from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.

The letter praised Health Officer Tiffany Palachuk for “excellent job of providing quality evidence of meeting statutes and rules.” Price County volunteered for early review as part of a DHS-led initiative to balance the number of reviews conducted each year, despite state code only requiring review every five years.

“We appreciate Price County Health and Human Services’ flexibility and willingness to assist with this project,” Tran wrote.

Hodek said she plans to have the letter included in the next County Board packet to ensure all supervisors see the recognition.

Resolution Urges State to Sustain Public Health Funding

The board unanimously approved a resolution calling on the state of Wisconsin to maintain sustainable funding for local health departments, forwarding it to the County Board.

The resolution cites state statutes Chapter 251 and Wisconsin Administrative Code Chapter DHS 140, which require local health departments to provide a core set of public health services. It notes that responsibilities have expanded due to emerging public health threats and workforce shortages, while funding has been repeatedly cut.

Palachuk provided a concrete example: a lead grant that supplements follow-up activities for children in older homes has been cut in half, leaving just $1,500 — an amount she called inadequate given the number of children in the community. She said the department is pursuing every available grant opportunity, but core functions require more stable state investment.

Several other Wisconsin counties are passing similar resolutions, Palachuk said.

The motion was made by Robert Kopisch and seconded by Denise Wargo.

Rural Transit Faces Potential 23% Federal Funding Cut

Nick reported that the federal government has notified Bay Area Rural Transit (BART) that funding for rural transit programming may be reduced by approximately 23%. Such a cut would be a substantial blow to the program, which serves Price County with bus routes within a five-mile radius of Park Falls and Phillips, plus a Park Falls-to-Butternut route primarily used by dialysis patients.

“That would be huge, huge changes for the program,” Nick said. He noted that the program is “maxed out” on the grant it uses, making local municipal contributions increasingly important.

The county is requesting 2027 contributions from municipalities it serves: $13,000 each from Park Falls and Phillips (a $500 increase), $1,500 from Fifield, $1,500 from Eisenstein (new request), and an amount still being negotiated with Butternut. Nick plans to attend Eisenstein’s board meeting on September 28 to present the request.

High-Cost Placement Costs Rising

Fiscal staff member Carrie presented an expanded high-cost placement report, offering the board a deeper breakdown of kinship placement costs — separating revenue, expenses, personnel costs, and operational costs for the first time.

The report shows expenses running approximately 1.5 to 2 months behind, meaning higher costs from recent months have not yet been fully reflected. Carrie had warned the board at its previous meeting that higher costs were coming, and those are now starting to appear in the numbers.

The kinship breakdown revealed that the program is largely grant-funded, with two separate grants covering assessment costs (personnel) and kinship benefits (payments to caregivers). The kinship benefit portion is typically 100% reimbursed through grants, meaning it inflates the total cost figure on the standard report while actually being close to break-even for the county.

Carrie asked the board whether this level of detail was useful and whether they’d like similar breakdowns for other placement types. Board members responded positively, with Kopisch noting he appreciated the clearer picture of where levy dollars are actually being spent.

Woodlands Commission: Census Decline Strains 2026 Budget

Dawn reported on the Woodlands Commission meeting, where the 2025 budget ended with a surplus but 2026 is “not going as well” due to declining census numbers.

One factor: Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) such as Inclusive and My Choice have been determining that some nursing home residents do not have skilled nursing needs, and will no longer pay for them to stay. Those residents are being moved to lower-care settings like assisted living, reducing the nursing home census and leaving open beds.

The enhanced rate for 2027 was set at $80 per day, unchanged from the current year. A presentation on population growth and staffing shortages highlighted broader challenges — nursing homes unable to fill beds due to insufficient staff.

Public Health: Flu Clinics, Community Survey, and ARPA Mini-Grant

Palachuk announced the October flu clinic schedule, including high-dose vaccines for adults 65 and older, standard flu shots, and clinics at schools, businesses, and community sites throughout the county.

The department’s Community Health Assessment Survey is now active and will run through the end of the year. Results will inform public health priorities for the next three to five years. The survey will be available online and at flu clinics, community events, senior dining sites, and the department’s Park Falls and Phillips offices.

A Health and Wellness Coalition mini-grant, originally requested at $2,000, came in at nearly $6,000 thanks to ARPA funds. The money funded fuel zone food carts for Phillips and Prentice school districts, crockpots with cooking education for families at farmer’s markets and the Senior Living Expo, and supplies for Youth Olympics and community events.

Personnel Updates

Director Sarah Reese Soha reported that interviews are scheduled for September 14 for a behavioral health social worker position and for nutrition site managers in Ogema and Park Falls.

Two resignations were announced:

Kim Polster, fiscal legal assistant, will retire in December. Reese Soha noted Polster holds “an extreme amount of knowledge” across multiple children and youth programs, and the department will need overlap time for training.
Jasmine Marlinga, foster care coordinator (part-time), will leave in early October.

The board also welcomed new member Stacy Pomeroy, an RN and manager at Aspirus Regency and Deray, who fills the statutorily required RN position on the board.

Income Maintenance Staff Earn Perfect Scores

Reese Soha shared an email from Steve Budnick, Northern Income Consortium Administrator, recognizing three Price County staff members — Deanna Hertland, Susie, and Christine — who scored 100% on a budget training quiz designed to ensure case accuracy. Only a fraction of consortium staff achieved perfect scores; Price County had three of eight.

New Hire Introduced

The board welcomed Kristie Kasterman, who has filled a position covering special education and crisis services. Kasterman, a former special education teacher who previously ran her own day program and group supported employment business for special needs adults, recently moved back to the area.

The next HHS Board meeting is scheduled for October 14, 2026.

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