§ 35-1-243 — Public health nursing

(a) In exercising its powers and duties under W.S.
35-1-240(a)(xx), the department of health may enter into
memoranda of understanding with the several counties separately
for the organization, management, delivery and financing of
public health nursing and related functions. The county
commissioners of each county shall have at least the following
choices for organizing public health nursing and related
functions:
(i) A partnership memorandum of understanding system;
(ii) A state administered public health nursing
system with a county contribution; or
(iii) Subject to the limitation stated in subsection
(e) of this section, a system under which the state contracts
with a county for the provision of all or a portion of the
public health nursing and other public health functions.
(b) A memorandum of understanding entered into pursuant to
this section may:
(i) Specify how the state and county employees will
be supervised and disciplined;
(ii) Specify the hours that public health offices
will be open and the holidays that will be observed and may
require both state and county employees in the public health
functions to conform to a common work schedule, which may be
different in different counties;
(iii) Specify which resources, including financial
and physical resources, will be furnished by the state and which
by the county or other local entity;
(iv) Contain any other provisions useful in the
organization, management or delivery of public health services.
(c) Any county entering into a memorandum of understanding
with the department to provide public health nursing services
under the systems specified in paragraph (a)(i) or (ii) of this
section shall be allowed to provide services under a different
system specified in paragraph (a)(i), (ii) or (iii) of this
section at any time on or before July 1, 2018. After July 1,
2018, a county shall not be allowed to change the system under
which public health nursing services are provided unless the
department consents to the change.
(d) If the commissioners of a county enter into a
memorandum of understanding to provide public health nursing
services under the system specified in paragraph (a)(ii) of this
section, at the request of the commissioners of the county,
county employee positions assisting in providing public health
functions may be transferred to state at-will employee contract
positions under W.S. 9-2-3207(a)(xi)(F) or to permanent state
positions, provided that the number of positions transferred
under this subsection shall not exceed the largest number of
public health nursing positions in the county between July 1 and
December 31 of the year prior to the transfer. A transfer under
this subsection shall mean payment of monies to the department
for the purpose of creating a position under W.S. 35-1-
243(a)(ii). Any state employee position created shall comply
with the state of Wyoming personnel rules. The department may
charge an administrative fee and accept county or other local
funds to defray the cost of transferred positions as provided in
the memorandum of understanding. The funds shall be deposited by
the state treasurer in a separate account. The funds in the
account are continuously appropriated to the department of
health and shall be paid out upon request of the department as
provided by law. Positions transferred under this subsection
into state permanent positions shall be paid benefits in the
same manner and at the same rates as for comparable state
employees pursuant to the state of Wyoming compensation policy.
The department's authorization for employee positions shall be
expanded by operation of law to accommodate all positions
transferred to the state under this subsection and shall
continue so long as the county that requested the transfers
satisfies its obligations under its memorandum of understanding
with the department. Upon a county's failure to make all
payments required by its memorandum of understanding with the
department or upon the county's request, the department shall no
longer have any state positions transferred by the county under
this subsection and, upon written notice to the transferred
employees and the county, shall follow the state of Wyoming
personnel rules regarding reductions in force. All positions
created under this subsection shall be included within the
department's standard or supplemental budget request.
(e) Any entity providing public health nursing services
under paragraph (a)(i) or (ii) of this section and which
maintains a city, county or district board of health under W.S.
35-1-301 through 35-1-309 may enter into a contract with the
department to perform public health nursing services under
paragraph (a)(iii) of this section pursuant to subsection (c) of
this section. This subsection and any contract made pursuant to
it shall be operable only for the period for which the
department is specifically authorized by law to transfer funds
between expenditure series for the purpose of making payments to
those entities that operate public health nursing services
pursuant to this subsection. The department's authorization for
employee positions shall be reduced automatically to correspond
with any transfer of funds from a salary expenditure series to a
contract series. All contracts made pursuant to this subsection
shall be conditioned upon the availability of appropriate
funding and the authority to transfer funds as provided in this
subsection. A contract made pursuant to this subsection shall
provide, with as much specificity as is reasonable and practical
given the time available, the services to be performed, the
resources and other assistance to be provided by the state and
the outcomes expected.
(f) When compensation to state public health nursing
employees is increased, the department shall determine a
corresponding increase to contract amounts for counties
providing public health nursing services under paragraph
(a)(iii) of this section and request this increase in the
department's standard budget or supplemental budget request.
(g) If the commissioners of two (2) or more counties
desire to form a joint powers board to manage all or part of the
public health functions in the respective counties, the relevant
memoranda of understanding may be modified accordingly and may
provide for transition to a joint powers board upon its creation
pursuant to the Wyoming Joint Powers Act.
(h) The county commissioners of each county may choose for
all or a portion of their county to use, for the delivery and
management of public health nursing and related functions, any
existing organization which currently delivers any or all public
health services.