QUINNIPIACK VALLEY HEALTH DISTRICT
BOARD OF HEALTH MINUTES
North Haven, CT
March 17, 2016
4:30 PM
In attendance: A. Hanke; D. Cofrancesco; J. Donaldson; C. Goldberg; P. Marone; V. Gallo; A. Sofair.
Ex officio: L. Balch. Staff: D. Culligan.
Not in attendance: R. Wilson; R. Martinello; B. Scott-Moore; R. Ivins; B. Weeks; A. Levison; J. St.Peter; K. Blake.
President Donaldson called the meeting to order at 4:35 p.m. She wished everyone a Happy St. Patrick’s day, Happy Passover, Happy Easter and Happy Spring. She also noted that C. Goldberg was being honored at a dinner in Bethany on 04/02/2016 and congratulated her.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
A motion to accept the January minutes made by C. Goldberg, seconded by V. Gallo and accepted unanimously.
FINANCIAL REPORT
L. Balch presented the report. She stated that on paper, the District appears in good shape. However, she noted that we are experiencing a cash flow issue that will hopefully be resolved soon as payments from the towns and grants are due, but the current economic environment is of concern.
She also noted:
- The expenditures for contingency will be allocated to postage because they are mainly related to serving Notice of Violations; therefore postage will be over spent by about 2%.
- It appears FY16 funds needed from the reserve will be between $15,000 and $50,000.
- Financial concerns going into FY17:
- QVHD had established a new bank account with Wells Fargo to reduce monthly fees of $400.00/month. However, QVHD was notified today the account must be reclassified and will have associated fees. L. Balch will look into other banks. Board members offered to refer contacts from other area banks for consideration.
- Public Health Emergency Preparedness grant cuts for FY17 were announced today. The amount and distribution has not yet been determined at the Federal level.
- State per capita funding to health departments/districts in the Governor’s budget is -5% for FY17. That makes 2 years in a row!
A motion to place the financial report on file was made by D. Cofrancesco, seconded by V. Gallo and passed unanimously.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Finance Committee, P. Marone, Chair:
- District revenue is from 3 main sources: towns, state and fees.
- The QVHD per capita request to the towns for FY17 is $5.50. Proposed increases for area health district compare at: NVHD $6.85, Chesprocott is about $8.65, ESHD $7.63, Pomperaug $8.40, so this may be an area to consider an increase for future budget years.
- State per capita will most likely be reduce for FY17.
- The final QVHD FY17 budget will be finalized for consideration before the April 28, 2016 public hearing.
- In anticipation of decreasing revenue from State sources, consideration will be given to:
- Expenditure and fee analysis
- Reasonable fee increases
- Union negotiations
- Bethany office hours cost ($9000 for OT and lost field-productivity)
- Feasibility of electronic document accessibility as suggested by V. Gallo.
ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS
Health Education reported by D. Culligan
- In January, QVHD staff participated in the Martin Luther King Day at Peabody Museum. Paper beads made from recycled paper were featured.
- Awaiting March 23rd notification of $15,000 competitive medical reserve corps (MRC) grant application.
- School Based Health Center (SBHC) again chosen to receive a Rotary Club grant award.
- The SBHC grant will be extended by one year in order to get all grantees on the same cycle. Grant amount uncertain until Governor’s budget finalized. Cuts proposed.
- Oral Health Grant: A small survey was conducted to assess how often adult medical providers ask about oral health. 74% of respondents stated that their medical provider has never asked about or assessed their oral health. Two Oral Health days will be held at libraries in Hamden and North Haven to raise awareness about oral health as an important part of overall health.
- QVHD participated in the “Let’s Move” Wellness fair focusing on healthy eating for families.
- Two volunteers distributed community health priority surveys for QVHD at the Kindergarten Fair held in Hamden.
- D. Culligan invited Board members to visit our Facebook page as well as Twitter. There is a link to them on the QVHD website.
Director of Health Report
- Accreditation Process: Invitations to become coalition members for the community health assessment (CHA) process were mailed on March 5, 2016. Membership may be expanded with suggestions from coalition members to gather additional representative information. The goals and objectives for the first coalition meeting have been established.
The kick off meeting is being planned for late April.
- L. Balch will be chairing a Public Health Accreditation Board site visit that will take place this summer. It is anticipated that greater insight into the process will be gained.
- QVHD’s Medical Countermeasures Operational Readiness Review (MCM ORR) was conducted by DPH and CDC representatives on March 1, 2016 and went very well. From the process, it was reinforced to staff that our emergency preparedness information needs a structural reorganization but the majority of components are contained in the plan.
- Food Service: All 3 and 4 service establishments have been rated at least once. About 10% asked for a re-inspection.
At 5:35 p.m., a motion was made by D. Cofrancesco, seconded by V. Gallo to move into Executive Session for the purpose of the Director of Health performance review and union negotiation strategy. The motion passed unanimously.
At 6:20 p.m., a motion to adjourn from Executive Session and return to regular session was made by D. Cofrancesco, seconded by V. Gallo and passed unanimously.
L. Balch is requested to delay Union negotiations until State funding levels (reductions) are known.
The personnel committee’s proposed Director of Health performance evaluation was approved and will begin within 1 week.
At 6:23 p.m., a motion to adjourn the QVHD Board meeting was made by P. Marone, seconded by A. Hanke and passed unanimously.
Minutes prepared by D. Culligan.
The next regular QVHD Board meeting will be held April 28, 2016 at 4:30 P.M. at the QVHD office.
