Fiscal Note
Expenditures and revenues will have no fiscal impact on the Public Health Adopted 2007 Operating Budget. There is no anticipated impact on cost controls or the tax levy.
Title
Resources for TB Isolation and Treatment Support.
Body
WHEREAS local public health departments are largely responsible for assuring that people with TB complete treatment and there are occasions when working with clients with active TB when temporary housing and support are needed to assure successful treatment, thereby protecting the health of the public, and
WHEREAS Catherine M. Corscot died on May 17, 1952 and pursuant to her will a trust was created for the lifetime benefit of Ruby Corscot and Alice Bagg, provided that the residue be turned over to the City of Madison to be used for the care and maintenance of the East Washington Avenue Hospital, which was established for the treatment of contagious disease and maintained by the City of Madison;
WHEREAS the East Washington Avenue Hospital was closed on December 31, 1953 and the last lifetime beneficiary died in 1996, in 1997 the County Court for Dane County ordered that the Catherine Corscot Trust shall be used for the purpose of aiding in the prevention of contagious disease, and the medical care for citizens of Madison suffering from, or threatened by, contagious disease, with the requirement that these funds not be used to be used to replace or supplant funding for programs currently funded through the Public Health operating budget, and
Whereas, the Corscot trust is presently administered by US Bank on behalf of the City; and
WHEREAS, in the past the Madison Department of Health has been able to draw funds from the trust for contagious disease programs but there currently is no program or mechanism available to disburse these funds for the purposes of combating contagious disease and nothing in place to address the use of the funds by the joint city-county health department; and
WHEREAS, Public Health- Madison and Dane County propose the creation of a a "TB Isolation Fund" as a mechanism to use some of the net income of the Corscot trust to directly address the temporary housing and other support needs of active TB patients identified by the department; and
WHEREAS, according to a court order In the Matter of the Trust Estate of Catherine M. Corscot, and as described in Resolution # 54832 adopted on December 16, 1997, the City of Madison has sole discretion of how to distribute all or any part of the net income from the Trust for furthering the purposes of the Trust fund; and
WHEREAS under the plan for the TB Isolation Fund program, half of the funding would come from local health organizations and healthcare providers and the other half from net income of the Cartherine M. Corscot Trust, and
WHEREAS the American Lung Association has agreed to serve as fiscal agent for the TB Isolation funds and distribute them as directed by staff persons of Public Health-Madison and Dane County who are assigned to TB cases; and
WHEREAS the Board of Health for Madison and Dane County endorses the creation of such a fund to support people with active TB in Madison and the vicinity who need temporary support and housing,
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Common Council authorizes the release of $5,000 from the Catherine M. Corscot Trust to a "TB Isolation Fund" to be administered by Public Health-Madison and Dane County for the purpose of providing temporary housing and support for people with active TB, and
BE IF FURTHER RESOLVED that Common Council authorizes the Director of Public Health-Madison and Dane County to enter into an agreement with the American Lung Association, with the approval of the City Attorney, to serve as fiscal agent and manage the TB Isolation funds,
BE IT ALSO RESOLVED that Public Health-Madison and Dane County will submit an annual accounting for the use of these funds to the Office of the Comptroller for the City of Madison documenting the use of these funds, and
FINALLY, BE IT RESOLVED that Common Council recognizes Catherine M. Corscot for the provisions she made through her trust for the care of people with contagious disease, which now extends more than 50 years after her death.
Preamble:
Local public health agencies have historically been largely responsible for assuring that people with tuberculosis (TB) complete treatment. When working with TB clients who are homeless and others who live in precarious circumstances, there are times when temporary housing and support are needed to assure successfully treatment, assuring isolation and protecting the health of the public. The need for respiratory isolation, can last from two weeks to six months or more. This resolution proposes that a fund be established for this purpose. In 2006, approximately $4,500 was spent to support of people while isolated and completing treatment for TB, including in-kind donations from churches and other community-based organizations, as well as donations from public health staff.
Catherine M. Corscot was a member of the City of Madison Board of Health. She was the daughter of John Corscot, a former mayor of the City of Madison. Catherine Corscot died in 1952. She established a trust on behalf of two family members with instructions that after their death the remainder of the trust would be given to the City of Madison to be used to support the East Washington Avenue Hospital, the hospital for contagious disease maintained by the City of Madison. The hospital was closed in December 1953.
The last beneficiary died in March 1996. On May 5, 1997, the Circuit Court of Dane County ordered that the Catherine M. Corscot Trust be used for the purpose of aiding in the prevention of contagious diseases and for the medical care of citizens of Madison and the vicinity suffering, or threatened, with contagious diseases. The Corscot Trust is under the sole control of the City of Madison, but can only be used for the purposes described above. The Court ordered that trust fund INCOME can be used for these purposes at the discretion of the City but cannot be used to replace or supplant programs currently funded by the City's operating budget. The court further ordered that the City may only distribute PRINCIPAL funds for the purpose of rebuilding the hospital or building or improving other structures, and can only do so with a two-thirds vote of Common Council and public recognition of Catherine M. Corscot.
This resolution would use portions of the trust income for a TB isolation program to provide temporary housing and support for people with TB who cannot remain in or financially maintain the housing they had prior to having active TB. The health department would like to start with a balance of $10,000-half from funds contributed by local health care systems and the other half from the Corscot Trust. In future years the joint health department would ask the City, annually, to release $5,000 from the Corscot trust. If need increases, an increased amount would be requested.
The American Lung Association has offered to manage the TB fund at no charge. Funds would be replenished at the beginning of each year so that the TB program starts at $10,000 each year. Funds remaining from the previous year will reduce the amount requested from the local health agency partners and drawn from the Trust. Written guidelines and eligibility criteria have been developed to guide the dispersal of funds. An MOU will be developed in consultation with the City Attorney's Office. An internal control mechanism agreeable to the Comptroller's Office will assure and document the appropriate use and reporting of the TB Isolation funds.