At its latest regular meeting, the Whitley County Board of Health voted unanimously to adopt a new policy for food sanitation grading.
“Our environmentalists conduct food inspections at a lot of different places that sell and serve food,” Public Health Director Dr. Marcy Rein explained to the board Monday evening. “Generally, those inspections occur monthly, and we require that they post, in a conspicuous place, the inspection form.”
The current inspection form will typically have a large number written on it, indicating the score that an establishment has received from the environmentalist (max grade 100). However, Rein said that the Whitley County Health Department will soon be switching to an electronic environmental system where the inspection forms will be accessed online. She said that the designated area to record the score on these forms is very small, and difficult to see. This, along with the fact that she feels many people do not fully understand what the number scores mean, has ultimately led to the decision to begin implementing an all-new grading system.
“The solution, we think, is to supplement all of the existing requirements into letter grades,” Rein said, adding that this is common practice in many other jurisdictions, such as Lexington, Louisville, and areas of northern Kentucky. “I assessed who does it, they sent me their criteria and policies, and in collaboration with the environmentalists, we have picked something out that is going to be doable for us, and that we feel like makes sense.”
Rein said that most food establishments in the county will soon begin receiving these letter grades – either A, B or C – and those establishments will then be required to post the grades in a conspicuous place that is in consultation with the environmentalist.
As for the criteria that will help determine which grade an establishment receives, Rein said that certain “high priority violations” will continue to be of particular concern. She said that failure to comply in these areas will result in follow-up inspections until the violations are remedied.
Follow-up inspections creating an “administrative burden”
Rein explained to the board that frequent follow-up visits to foodservice establishments for the purpose of conducting additional inspections has created an “administrative burden” on the Health Department. She said the follow-up rate has more than doubled in her time as Public Health Director, adding that COVID-related issues have contributed to that increase, but also admitting that “we haven’t seen that go down like we would expect.”
By implementing the new letter grading system, Rein is hopeful that the Health Department can foster a sense of “positive peer pressure” among local foodservice establishments that will result in more passing grades and less need for follow-up inspections.
To receive an “A” grade (excellent), an establishment will need to score at least a 93 on their inspection, in addition to having no high priority violations. Scoring between 85-92 with no high priority violations will result in a “B” grade. A “C” grade (marginal) will mean scoring anything below 85, and/or receiving any high priority violations.
Rein told the board that environmental staff have engaged in casual conversation recently with several local establishments, reporting that the response to the proposal of this new system has been overwhelmingly positive. She also mentioned that she believes it will be helpful to consumers, as it will give them a “clearer measure” to utilize when they are making decisions about where to eat.
As for the businesses, Rein said, “We think it will improve business for those who get A’s. It is definitely not going to make the folks who score a C happy, but we hope that it will help to change behavior [so that] we can get them out of that C and keep them out of it.”
After Rein’s explanation of the policy and some brief discussion regarding implementation, the board voted to adopt the new letter grading system. It will go into effect in the coming days.
In other Board of Health business:
– Board Chair Dr. David Williams took a moment at the meeting to recognize Marcy Rein for her recent completion of the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program at Northern Kentucky University. Rein’s doctoral project dealt with testing adults in sex education as an intervention method to reduce the rate of sexually transmitted infections.
– Rein announced the Clinic Manager Lia Vanover is one of 36 people that have been accepted to a new cohort of the Kentucky Public Health Emerging Leadership Institute. The program is presented by the Kentucky Department of Public Health, and is held in conjunction with Emory University and the University of Georgia.
– The Health Department’s annual audit is in process, with the auditor making a site visit earlier this month. Rein explained that the Health Department has not been unable to close its fiscal year 2025 finances due to a “bottle neck” at the state level that is affecting health departments across the Commonwealth.
– The Board of Health also voted to update policies related to layoff procedures and work restrictions.
