Thursday, December 10, 2020
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
(Remote Meeting Via Zoom)
4:30 pm - Regular Board of Directors Meeting
5:00 pm - Public Hearing: Proposed Changes to the Fee Schedule and Per Capita
Present:
J. Donaldson, P. Marone, C. Goldberg, A. Levison, B. Thornquist, P. Sandor, R. Martinello, R. Ivins, C. Lewis, J. Solimene.
Absent:
J. St. Peter
Staff:
K. Wolujewicz, A. Mulvihill, L. Fox, L. Altieri, B. Bildstein
President’s Comments
President Donaldson called the meeting to order at 4:35 p.m. and wished everyone a Happy Holiday Season.
Approval of October 22, 2020 Minutes
A motion was made by C. Goldberg, seconded by P. Marone to approve the October 22, 2020 minutes. The motion passed unanimously.
Approval of 2021 Board Meeting Dates
R. Ivins moved to approve the 2021 Board of Director’s Meeting Dates and C. Goldberg seconded. All voted unanimously.
Financial Report
L. Altieri presented the monthly budget to the board.
QVHD received payments from the Towns and the OD2A, Crisis Response and ELC Grant.
A motion was made by B. Thornquist, seconded by R. Martinello to accept and put the financial report on file. The motion passed unanimously.
Committee Reports
Executive Committee - no report
Finance Committee - no report
Personnel Committee -
J. Donaldson stated there will be an interim evaluation for the Director of Health to be conducted in February.
By-laws Committee - no report
Special Projects Committee - no report
SBHC Liaisons -
A Levison reported a meeting was held last month. Enrollment at the High School is good. Church Street School has 50 percent participation. There is a need for more behavioral health care. Students can access care through Cornell Scott-Hill Health Center when school is closed.
Flu Shots are available through School Based Health Centers (SBHC) at the Middle School through Cornell Scott-Hill Health Center.
The goal is to service students at other schools without health clinics.
Administrative Reports
Director of Health – K. Wolujewicz (Full report placed on file)
Highlights:
COVID-19 response:
QVHD has been very busy with the COVID-19 response and planning for COVID-19 vaccine clinics. An increase in workforce to support COVID-19 activities was made possible through recruitment of MRC volunteers and the State of Connecticut Department of Public Health funding. Twelve MRC volunteers and two Quinnipiac University volunteers were trained on CT’s ContaCT system and are assisting QVHD with contact tracing. CT DPH approved QVHD’s application for the ELC (Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity) cooperative agreement. With this new funding, QVHD was able to hire one part-time public health nurse, one full-time contact tracer and one part-time contact tracer. The funding will support local efforts in COVID-19 surveillance, contact tracing, and prevention of COVID-19 transmission.
Connecticut is planning for Phase 1a roll-out of COVID-19 vaccine. Phase 1a includes healthcare personnel, long term care facility residents, and first responders at risk of exposure to COVID-19 such as Emergency Medical Technicians, Police, and Fire.
The upcoming phases will include critical work force, other congregate settings, adults over 65 years and high risk adults less than 65 years of age. The allocation within Phase 1 of the COVID-19 vaccination program will be based on the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommendations.
QVHD has enrolled and is awaiting approval by CTDPH Immunization Program to become a COVID-19 Vaccination Program (CoVP) provider. Once approved, QVHD will be able to order, store and handle, and administer COVID-19 vaccine. QVHD plans to offer COVID-19 vaccine to eligible persons under phase 1a.
Administration:
The roof and gutters have been repaired.
The Medical Director (MOU) Letter was reviewed by the Board.
A motion was made to appoint and approve the (MOU) by R. Martinello, seconded by J.Solimene. The motion passed unanimously.
Public Hearing
A motion was made to move into the Public Hearing at 4:53 p.m. by R. Ivins, seconded by C. Lewis.
No participants were waiting.
A motion was made to return to the Board Meeting at 4:56 by A. Levison, seconded by C. Lewis.
Environmental Health - L. Fox (Full report placed on file)
QVHD continues to provide guidance and recommendations to local businesses on how to respond to reports of positive COVID-19 individuals and how to conduct contact tracing. QVHD has issued two cease and desist orders to two food establishments for violating CT Sector Rules.
All Environmental Staff have enrolled and received training in CT’s ContaCT system to perform contact tracing if needed.
A Suspension of Activities and Services has been issued and sent to all Town Officials. Complaints are prioritized, and non-critical/non-essential complaints are referred to other Town departments with which they also have authority over (property maintenance, garbage, junk cars).
A motion was made to return to the Public Hearing at 5:00 pm by C. Goldberg, seconded by P. Sandor.
Public Hearing:
J. Donaldson gave an introduction for the Public Hearing and mentioned that it will be recorded. J. Donaldson asked that the callers introduce themselves by name and the town they are from.
K. Wolujewicz reviewed the suggested fee increases within QVHD’s fee schedule.
1st Caller -
Victoria Kubilus of The Lockstar Lounge / Phoenix Suites, North Haven
Expressed her concern for the increase in fees.
K. Wolujewicz acknowledged the difficult times that most businesses are facing throughout the pandemic. This was taken into consideration when revising the fee schedule. QVHD has not increased fees for more than 10 years for some of its fees. The increases in the fee schedule are essential to doing business and to continue to provide quality public health services in the long-term.
It was discussed that QVHD must meet a budget with expenses going up.
2nd Caller –
Nick Healy of Small Talk Salon, Hamden
Nick stated - This is a sensitive time to have fees increase. Is the increase driven by COVID-19 response?
It was discussed that the fee increase was not COVID-19 directed. The Board was looking into possibly increasing fees over the last few years.
K. Wolujewicz stated that this proposal is for year one of a potential three-year plan of increasing the fees. If there will be a fee increase in the following two years, the Board will hold another public hearing each year prior to their approval of increased fees.
A.Mulvihill addressed the Chat: “If anyone has a question please feel free to unmute and ask a question.” There were no other questions.
J. Donaldson thanked V. Kubilus and N. Healy for their time and all comments will be considered by the Board before the revised fee schedule will be adopted.
We waited on line for another 5 minutes for additional callers.
A motion was made by R. Ivins, seconded by C. Goldberg to exit the Public Hearing at 5:30 p.m. The motion passed unanimously.
Note - There were no questions brought up re: Per Capita in the Public Hearing.
A motion was made by A. Levison, seconded by R. Martinello to finalize the proposed fees and increase the Per Capita to $. 25 for the fiscal year of 2021 to 2022.
The motion passed unanimously.
Community Health - A. Mulvihill (Full report placed on file)
COVID-19 Mass Vaccine Clinics:
QVHD conducted an on-site visit to the primary and back-up locations where COVID-19 vaccine will be administered to the critical workforce personnel. QVHD is in discussion with our local partners such as superintendents, school nurses, and Quinnipiac University School of Nursing to assist us in our COVID-19 mass vaccine clinic efforts.
Tuberculosis (TB) Case Coordination:
TB case in QVHD jurisdiction. A work site investigation with the State Supervising Epidemiologist was conducted.
School based Health Centers:
Hamden Public Schools are remote until January 19, 2021.
Flu Clinic:
QVHD in partnership with CSHHC, Hamden Public Schools and the Town of Hamden held a flu clinic and 135 flu vaccines were administered.
Overdose 2 Action (OD2A):
A Public Health Navigator was hired to work with K. Sepulveda on OD2A initiatives and deliverables.
Executive Session
A motion was made by B. Thornquist, seconded by R. Martinello to go to Executive Session at 6 p.m.
A motion was made by P. Marone and seconded by B. Thornquist to exit the Executive Session and return to the regular meeting at 6:04 pm.
The Board recognized and thanked Ali Mulvihill and Lynn Fox for their hard work during this difficult year and for all of their extra work, well done, during this Covid 19 Pandemic.
Adjourn
A motion was made by B. Thornquist and seconded by A. Levison to adjourn at 6:09 pm.
Respectfully submitted by:
Karen Ann Wolujewicz
