QUINNIPIACK VALLEY HEALTH DISTRICT

BOARD OF HEALTH MINUTES

North Haven, CT

April 28, 2016   4:30 PM

In attendance: R. Wilson; D. Cofrancesco; R. Martinello; R. Ivins; J. Donaldson; C. Goldberg; P. Marone; B. Weeks; A. Levison; Ex officio: L. Balch.  Staff: D. Culligan. Not in attendance: A. Hanke; B. Scott-Moore; V. Gallo; A. Sofair; J. St.Peter; K. Blake.     

 President Donaldson called the meeting to order at 4:35 p.m. She noted that the finance committee has worked hard to develop a budget for FY17 and thanked the members for their work. She further noted that a public hearing was held on 4/27/2016 regarding the proposed increase in fees and no public attended.

 APPROVAL OF MINUTES

A motion to accept the March minutes made by C. Goldberg, seconded by P. Marone and accepted unanimously.  

 FINANCIAL REPORT

L. Balch presented the report for the month ending March 31, 2016: Revenue at 83%; Expenses at 72%. Approximately $60,000 revenue in outstanding grant funds, inspection fees, and town per capita not yet received/recorded is anticipated by end of fiscal year. Cash flow continues to be an issue. Use of reserve funds to cover FY16 expenditures is estimated to be significantly lower than budgeted, barring expenses from an unexpected major event.

A motion to place the financial report on file was made by C. Goldberg, seconded by R. Ivins and passed unanimously.

 COMMITTEE REPORTS:

Finance. P. Marone, Finance Committee Chair, recommends to the Board the following FY17 fee increases: 

                 *15 DAYS TO 3 MONTHS-$35.00; 4-6 MONTHS-$70.00; 7-9 MONTHS-$105.00; 10-12 MONTHS-$140.00

 A motion to accept the increased fees July 1, 2016 was made by R. Ivins, seconded by A. Levison and voted unanimously.

 FY District Budget:

P. Marone, Chair of the Finance Committee, distributed the proposed FY17 budget and commented:

• Total budget is about 1.2 million
• Reserve funds have been used to fill the gap between revenue and expenses as has been done in past years.
• State per capita and grant funding amounts will not be finalized until a State Budget is passed. Currently the Governor’s budget indicates a 7.7% decrease ($13,000) in per capita funding and up to 10% ($8,000) for Preparedness, for a total decrease of $21,000. The proposed budget reflects these decreases in revenue.
• Increased fees will generate an estimated $6,000.
• Employee salaries and benefits have not yet been negotiated.
• For next year:
  • Consider increase in town per capita request on par with other area health districts. The request to the towns will go out in November.
  • Continue searching/applying for appropriate grants.
  • Eliminate Bethany office hours and establish policy to meet with constituents by appointment. This will decrease overtime cost by ½ current expenditures.  
• The main goals for the finance committee throughout the budgeting process were to maintain staffing levels and look at increasing productivity.

 School Based Health Center (SBHC) Advisory Committee Report presented by A. Levison, Board Liaison:

• An Advisory Committee meeting was held on April 5, 2016. The APRN and the LCSW supervisor attended and are enthusiastic and committed to the SBHC concept.
• The Rotary Club of Hamden donated $1,000 to the SBHC. Funds will be used to supplement areas not covered by the grant.
• A change in Medicaid rules allows for billing of two different services in the same day. This will help in billing for all visits.
• Some families with commercial insurance have high deductibles which means the SBHC is not likely to collect reimbursement for their visits.
• The issue of condom distribution for disease prevention continues to arise. The APRN would like to be able to distribute them, along with appropriate education, as part of best practices. Because it is a controversial issue, efforts are being made to collect parental opinion via the new registration form.

 EXECUTIVE SESSION

At 5:15 p.m., a motion to move into Executive Session was made by D. Cofrancesco, seconded by R. Wilson and voted unanimously. At 5: 25 p.m., a motion to return to regular session was made by R. Ivins, seconded by D. Cofrancesco and voted unanimously.

 PUBLIC HEARING ON QVHD FY 2017 BUDGET

At 5:30 p.m., R. Ivins made a motion to open the Public Hearing for the QVHD FY 2017 Budget, seconded by D. Cofrancesco and voted unanimously.

No members from the public attended. . 

At 5:35 p.m., R. Wilson made a motion to close the Public Hearing, seconded by D. Cofrancesco and voted unanimously.

 Following the Public Hearing, a motion to accept the QVHD FY17 Proposed Budget as recommended by the Finance Committee was made by R. Wilson, seconded by R. Ivins and accepted unanimously.

ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS

Health Education reported by D. Culligan

• QVHD attended the North Haven Earth Day in April. Paper bead jewelry was taught, focusing on reusing.
• The first Community Health Coalition meeting is scheduled for May 9^th at 8:00 a.m. About 13 people from all four towns are expected to attend and Board members are welcome.
• Hamden held its annual SoHa Fair. A volunteer from Hamden Partnership for Young Children administered the Community Health Assessment survey and obtained 24 completed surveys.
• An Oral Health grant application was submitted for round 2 of the Community Health Foundation funding.
• QVHD participated in the statewide Medical Countermeasures (MCM) distribution drill on April 14. QVHD tested its ability to order, assemble and receive the material.

 Director of Health Report, L Balch

• J. Zelson is retiring from his position as health director of Orange, but not from his practice. He will continue as the volunteer medical advisor for QVHD.
• There is a residential meeting in Woodbridge tonight at 6:30 p.m. about the areas of contamination and the proposed remediation on the Town-owned Country Club of Woodbridge property. The community concerns are not primarily health related, however, Meg Harvey from the CT DPH is attending in lieu of QVHD Director due to scheduling conflicts to respond to any health concerns that may be raised. J. Laudano, QVHD sanitarian, is also attending.
• There has been a mumps outbreak in CT at a university (not in our district.) L. Balch requested that CT DPH send a letter of information about healthcare provider immunity recommendations to all college health centers.
• The Regional Water Authority (RWA) held an informational meeting regarding the safety of their public water supply from lead contamination. It was noted: RWA does not allow any treated sewage water into the reservoirs; has replaced known lead service lines; uses corrosion control; and will assist with customer-owned service lines replacement if needed. To date, QVHD has not identified any cases of lead poisoning from water. QVHD is communicating with the Hamden Housing Authority about their concerns with the lead-in water concerns.
• QVHD has applied for 2 grants: 1) Aetna for community gardens; 2) EPA for indoor air quality in day cares (not awarded). QVHD will be preparing to apply for the next round (Fall, 2016) of HUD grants for lead reduction/prevention.
• Although the mosquito that carries Zika is currently not present in our district, there is a related species in southwestern CT, but it has not yet been found to carry the Zika virus. The CAES will again monitor mosquito species and infection throughout the summer in CT for species and as carriers of infection, to include Zika. QVHD has begun distributing information to towns and the community about reducing mosquito breeding grounds, personal protection, travel advisories and Zika testing in CT.

 At 6:15 p.m., a motion to adjourn the QVHD Board meeting was made by D. Cofrancesco, seconded by C. Goldberg and passed unanimously.

 Minutes prepared by D. Culligan.

 The next regular QVHD Board meeting will be held May 26, 2016 at 4:30 P.M. at the QVHD office.