QUINNIPIACK VALLEY HEALTH DISTRICT

BOARD OF HEALTH MINUTES

North Haven, CT

December 8, 2016        

4:30 PM

In attendance: A. Mulvihill; J. Donaldson; C. Goldberg; V. Gallo; B. Weeks; A. Sofair; R. Martinello (by phone); R. Ivins.   

Ex officio: L. Balch.  Staff: D. Culligan.

Not in attendance: R. Wilson; D. Cofrancesco; P. Marone; K. Blake; A. Levison; J. St. Peter.     

 President Donaldson called the meeting to order at 4:40 p.m. She extended holiday wishes to all. She invited Board members to the Martin Luther King Day celebration at Peabody Museum on January 16, 2017. She will be storytelling and singing at 11:30 that day.

 APPROVAL OF MINUTES

A motion was made by C. Goldberg, seconded by A. Mulvihill to accept the October minutes.  The motion was accepted unanimously.

 FINANCIAL REPORT

L. Balch distributed an interim format for the financial report. She explained that the grant section on top shows what has been committed and that which has been received to date, and the bottom shows what has been committed and that which has been expended. The state per capita funding has been received in full, and other state monies are still a bit behind schedule. Town payments have been timely and are at 50%. Food service revenue will begin after the new year with the 2017 license renewals. Soil testing may increase, although we are at 95% collected as budgeted. A motion to place the financial report on file was made by R. Ivins, seconded by C. Goldberg and passed unanimously.

 MEETING DATES FOR 2017

The dates for the 2017 QVHD Board of Directors meetings are as follows:

• January 26, 2017
• March 23, 2017
• April 27, 2017
• May 25, 2017
• June 22, 2017
• September 28, 2017
• October 26, 2017
• December 7, 2017
• January 25, 2018

Meetings are held on the 4^th Thursday of the month (unless otherwise noted) at QVHD in the conference room at 1151 Hartford Turnpike, North Haven.

A motion to adopt the meeting dates with an amendment to move the September 28^th meeting to September 21 was made by R. Ivins, seconded by A. Mulvihill and passed unanimously. The correct date for Rosh Hashanah was noted, and the motion was rescinded by a motion made by R. Ivins, seconded by A. Mulvihill and passed unanimously. A motion was made to leave September 28^th as the meeting date for the September meeting; motion by R. Ivins, seconded by A. Mulvihill and passed unanimously.

 COMMITTEE REPORTS

There were no committee reports this month.

 ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS

Health Education reported by D. Culligan

• A demonstration on preventing the spread of germs was provided to 53 children (K-5) at the after-school program at Keefe Center.
• QVHD staff attended the Bethany Senior Health fair. A display presented information on fall prevention, food safety and emergency preparedness.
• The second QVHD Community Health Coalition meeting was held on November 29, 2016. At that meeting the Coalition identified the three priority areas for the Community Health Improvement Plan: Access to Healthcare; Mental Health/substance abuse; and Chronic Illness (obesity, physical activity and diabetes.) Coalition members who were unable to attend will have the opportunity to comment on the materials before the Community Health Assessment is finalized.
• An MRC (Medical Reserve Crops) Challenge Awards grant was submitted. The project title is “Preparedness Pals.” The maximum award is $13,000.
• L. Balch has requested Zika travel awareness information be distributed before the holidays and planning to begin for mosquito source reduction efforts for the spring. R. Martinello commented on the need for such efforts. Several posts have been made to Facebook and Twitter, as well as the QVHD website. L. Balch is interested in efforts to increase community awareness of QVHD’s use of social media.
• The QVHD Annual Report for 2015-16 was distributed to the Board. Questions will be addressed at the next Board meeting or questions can be directed to D. Culligan prior to the meeting.

 Director of Health Report, L Balch

• Update on Regionalization (now being referred to as Local Health Integration): L. Balch forwarded a notice from the Commissioner of Health to Board members and town CEOs regarding a series of meetings across the state to garner support. The CT Department of Public Health is moving forward with the proposal. QVHD will have good representation at the first meeting to be held December 12 in New Haven with D. Gorski from Bethany and B. Yagla from Woodbridge, K. Blake, Board member and L. Balch plan to attend. The Connecticut Conference of Municipalities (CCM) and the Connecticut Organization of Governments (COGs) as well as some local health departments have voiced early opposition. L. Balch will continue to keep the Board informed.
• The Opioid grant continues to move forward. QVHD’s funding plan includes personnel to plan and gather data about services available in the community. The grant intends to implement an education campaign to decrease stigma, increase medication assisted treatment and assist people to navigate the system. J. Donaldson requested an outline of the plan.
• QVHD applied for a National Environmental Health 10-week environmental health summer intern. In addition to developing general environmental health competencies, the intern will work on FDA Standardization;
• QVHD has applied for a $2,500 FDA Food Safety Standards review-grant to QVHD food protection program against the FDA Standards. The state is considering a move to FDA standards from the CT code in the near future.
• QVHD has entered into a radon partnership with the state. The new program involves a targeted approach to kit distribution with a QVHD reminder to test in an effort to increase use of the distributed testing kits. An education display at a health fair is being considered. Tests can also be performed year-round, although the winter months are preferred, and testing will be conducted at the CT State laboratory.
• L. Balch noted that a new report released today noted that for the first time since 1999, U.S. life expectancy has decreased slightly.

 At 6:00 p.m., a motion to adjourn was made by V. Gallo, seconded by A. Mulvihill and passed unanimously.

 Minutes prepared by D. Culligan and L. Balch, Secretary.

 The next regular QVHD Board meeting will be held January 26, 2017 at 4:30 P.M. at the QVHD office.