Quinnipiack Valley Health District
A Regional Health Department Serving Bethany, Hamden, North Haven and Woodbridge, CT
1151 Hartford Turnpike . North Haven . CT . 06473 . tel (203) 248-4528 . fax (203) 248-6671 . www.qvhd.org
Thursday, September 24, 2020
4:30 PM Regular Board of Directors Meeting – Remote Via Zoom
Present: J. Donaldson, C. Goldberg, A. Levison, B. Thornquist, P. Sandor, R. Martinello,
R. Ivins, C. Lewis, J. St. Peter, P. Marone
Absent: J. Solimene
Staff: K. Wolujewicz, A. Mulvihill, L. Fox, L. Altieri, J. Laudano, B. Bildstein
President’s comments
President Donaldson called the meeting to order at 4:36 p.m. Donaldson welcomed Karen Wolujewicz, the new Director of Health for Quinnipiack Valley Health District.
She also welcomed Fall, wished everyone Happy Holidays and Positive thoughts to the world.
Approval of the June Minutes
A motion was made by C. Goldberg, seconded by R. Ivins to approve the June 25, 2020 minutes. The motion passed unanimously.
Financial Report (L. Altieri)
L. Altieri presented the financial report to the board. QVHD received the first quarter per capita payments from Bethany, Hamden, North Haven and Woodbridge. QVHD has not yet received the SFY 2021 State of Connecticut Per Capita funding to date. K. Wolujewicz will contact the CT Office of Public Health Preparedness and Local Health Section.
L. Altieri indicated we have not received payments for the Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) grant nor the Preventative Health and Health Services Block Grant (PHHSBG) Accreditation Program. Funding was received for the Overdose Data to Action (OD2A) grant and School Based Health Centers (SBHC). QVHD received a refund of $250 from the AFDO funding due to a cancelled seminar.
A motion was made by R. Ivins, seconded by A. Levison to place the financial report on file.
Credit Card Payments
L. Altieri informed the Board that QVHD has entered into a 3-year contract with a company that can process credit card payments. The monthly fee is about $40. QVHD will incur an additional cost including 2.7% per transaction using the contactless machine plus $0.10 per transaction or 3.5% online entry plus $0.10 per transaction. Several options were discussed as follows: do not use the credit card reader and continue to incur the monthly cost or review the current contract to determine the buyout terms or begin to use the credit card reader and evaluate its use thereafter. Discussion followed if the percentage fees are high compared to what other banks are charging.
C. Goldberg suggested that a special meeting should be called to continue the credit card payment discussion.
A motion was made to accept credit card payments by R. Ivins and seconded by R. Martinello with the condition that K. Wolujewicz and L. Altieri would explore costs associated with that and seek to find the lowest cost vendor for those required services.
Auditor
L. Altieri received an audit proposal from Sinnamon & Associates, LLC. The audit fee will be $8,000 per year for 3 years. The audit fee with the current auditor is $14,000 per year.
A motion was made to engage the proposed auditor - Sinnamon & Associates, LLC by C. Goldberg, seconded by J. Solimene.
Linda will send the audit proposal from Sinnamon & Associates, LLC to the board.
Appointments for Elections and Nominating Committee - Document placed on file
Nominating Committee
A.Levison, Chair presented the Slate of Officers: J. Donaldson, President and P. Marone, Vice President.
A motion was made to accept the Slate of Officers and it was seconded. The motion passed unanimously.
Executive Committee
J. Donaldson, President and P. Marone, Vice President agreed to continue in their positions.
A motion was made to accept the Executive Committee Appointments by K. Wolujewicz, seconded by B. Thornquist. The motion passed unanimously.
J. Donaldson, President
P. Marone, V.P.
Dr. R. Martinello
C. Goldberg
J. St. Peter
Finance Committee
P. Marone, Chair
C. Goldberg
R. Ivins
P. Sandor
A motion was made to accept the Finance Committee Appointments by R. Ivins, seconded by B. Thornquist. The motion passed unanimously.
Personnel Committee
R. Ivins, Chair
A. Levison
C. Goldberg
B. Thornquist
J. Solimene
C. Lewis
A motion was made to accept the Personnel Committee Appointments by C. Goldberg, seconded by C. Lewis. The motion passed unanimously.
By-laws Committee
C. Goldberg, Chair
Dr. R. Martinello
C. Lewis
J. Solimene
B. Thornquist
A motion was made to accept the By-Laws Committee Appointments by R. Ivins, seconded by P. Sandor. The motion passed unanimously.
Special Projects Committee
C. Goldberg, Chair
Dr. R. Martinello
J. St. Peter
C. Lewis
P. Sandor
A motion was made to accept the Special Projects Committee Appointments by R. Ivins, seconded by P. Sandor. The motion passed unanimously.
SBHC Liaisons
A. Levison
B. Thornquist
C. Lewis
A motion was made to accept the SBHC Liaisons Committee Appointments by C. Goldberg, seconded by R. Ivins. The motion passed unanimously
Committee Reports
Finance Committee
The committee will be busy reviewing and evaluating information discussed during the Board Retreat.
Personnel Committee
The committee will go into Executive Session next month. R. Ivins to report on an outstanding issue. The committee has offered to assist in the Public Health Accreditation efforts. R. Ivins inquired about the steps to accreditation. K. Wolujewicz sent the Board an outline of the Seven Steps to Public Health Accreditation. The committee also offered to assist in the development and/or review of QVHD policies and procedures (i.e. new employee orientation).
By-Laws Committee No updates were provided.
SBHC Liaisons No updates were provided.
Special Projects Committee
R. Martinello reached out to the Yale School of Architecture regarding an assessment of the current QVHD workspace. C.Goldberg to review options on space assessment.
Administrative Reports - Full Report placed on file.
Karen Wolujewicz, Director of Health
Highlights:
QVHD has participated in school reopening committee meetings within QVHD jurisdiction to provide consultation and share updated CT State Department of Education (CSDE) and CT Department of Public Health (DPH) guidance and recommendations. QVHD has conducted walk throughs with schools to ensure compliance with current Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and CT DPH guidelines.
QVHD has provided information on CT Re-Open Sector guidelines and CT Executive Order regarding travel to public health partners and residents.
QVHD has consulted with several schools and community partners regarding quarantine and isolation recommendations for persons who test positive with COVID-19. QVHD is working with schools on contact tracing when an individual tests positive for COVID-19. QVHD has on-boarded two Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) members to assist with contact tracing efforts. QVHD is working with Quinnipiac University’s contact tracers and the Physician Assistant program through P. Sandor to increase the number of contact tracers to support QVHD.
QVHD will submit an application for the DPH’s Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity (ELC) grant. QVHD submitted its application for public health emergency preparedness grant funding.
K. Wolujewicz reported on building maintenance issues and the work done to address the roof, propane and generator.
Community Health - Full Report placed on file.
Ali Mulvihill, Director of Community Programs
Highlights:
The QVHD 2020 Annual Report has been completed.
Thank you to A. Mulvihill for pursuing and obtaining the outstanding per capita balance from the town of Hamden.
Thirteen community pop-up COVID-19 testing programs were conducted by The Cornell Scott-Hill Health Center (CSHHC) in partnership with QVHD. A total of 1,078 tests were administered.
SBHCs have begun to administer school physicals and vaccines prior to school starting and continue to offer services for students and families.
Accreditation efforts are moving forward. A. Mulvihill will be revising the workplan for the 2nd year of the Preventative Health & Health Services Block grant.
QVHD partnered with East Shore Health Department on the Bethany Flu Clinic at Town Hall on September 17th. Approximately 85 people attended the flu clinic.
The personal protective equipment (PPE) distribution for healthcare facilities ended in August.
Environmental Health - Full Report placed on file.
Lynn Fox, Chief Environmental Services
Highlights:
The Environmental staff have been involved with the COVID-19 response. Environmental staff address COVID-19 related inquiries and complaints from many facilities that are regulated by QVHD and other facilities including gyms, office settings, retail establishments, day cares, religious gatherings, and other large public and private gatherings. All staff participate in virtual meetings with schools, police, fire, water authority and QU task force.
Routine inspections of restaurants, hair/nail salons and public pools are being conducted in addition to reviewing the facility’s compliance with the CT Re-Open Sector rules.
One elevated blood lead level report was investigated. The suspected source of the lead exposure was identified, and the child’s blood lead level started to go down once exposure to the lead source was removed.
A weekly sample from the lake water in Bethany reported high levels of bacteria. A swim advisory was posted. DEEP reviewed and confirmed the sample was a blue-green algae bloom.
During the two most recent storm events (wind and tornado) the Environmental staff worked with facilities and businesses that lost power to provide education on food safety, carbon monoxide hazards, and well-recovery information.
QVHD will receive radon test kits from DPH and will disseminate to residents with educational information.
One mosquito sample collected in North Haven on September 10th tested positive for West Nile Virus. A public health advisory was issued.
Other
C. Goldberg acknowledged QVHD staff member, R. Currier, on his professionalism and excellent customer service provided during a recent town event. J. Donaldson also complimented R. Currier regarding his great service.
Adjourn
A motion to adjourn was made by A. Levison, seconded by R. Ivins at 6:13 p.m.
Respectfully submitted: Karen Wolujewicz, Director of Health
