QUINNIPIACK VALLEY HEALTH DISTRICT

BOARD OF HEALTH MINUTES

North Haven, CT

September 22, 2016      4:30 PM

In attendance: R. Wilson; D. Cofrancesco; A. Mulvihill; R. Ivins; J. Donaldson; C. Goldberg; V. Gallo; A. Levison; K. Blake;

B. Weeks; R. Martinello. Ex officio: L. Balch.  Staff: D. Culligan.  Not in attendance: P. Marone; S. Sofair; J. St. Peter.     

 President Donaldson called the meeting to order at 4:35 p.m. She noted how proud she was of staff at the Community Conversation held on September 19, 2016. Two other Board members attended in addition to herself; B. Weeks and A. Levison. She noted that there was a nice representation from all towns. She and the other Board members recapped the content of their discussion group. L. Balch added that all three discussion groups came up with similar needs. D. Culligan stated that the written summary will be distributed to Board members when available.

 APPROVAL OF MINUTES

A motion was made by C. Goldberg, seconded by D. Cofrancesco to accept the June minutes.  The motion was accepted unanimously. Board members decided that hard-copy mailings of the agenda, minutes and financial report should be discontinued in favor of email distribution. J. Donaldson will continue to receive mailed copies, and a reference copy will be available at each meeting.

 COMMITTEE APPOINTMENTS

R. Ivins, chair of the Nominating Committee presented the slate for the officers of the Board: J. Donaldson for president and P. Marone for vice-president. There were no nominations from the floor. A motion to accept the slate as presented was made by K. Blake, seconded by R. Wilson and passed unanimously.

President J. Donaldson made the following committee appointments:

Executive Committee: J. Donaldson, P. Marone, R. Martinello, C. Goldberg and V. Gallo.

     Motion to accept made by R. Ivins, seconded by D. Cofrancesco and passed unanimously.

J. Donaldson would like a meeting of the Executive Committee before the October Board meeting.  

Bylaws Committee: C. Goldberg, Chair; R. Martinello, D. Cofrancesco and J. St. Peter.

     Motion to accept made by R. Ivins, seconded by A. Levison and passed unanimously.

Personnel Committee: D. Cofrancesco, Chair; A. Sofair, V. Gallo, R. Wilson and R. Ivins.

     Motion to accept made by V. Gallo, seconded by C. Goldberg and passed unanimously. 

Finance Committee: P. Marone, Chair; C. Goldberg, R. Ivins, and V. Gallo.

     Motion to accept made by A. Levison, seconded by D. Cofrancesco and passed unanimously.

Nominating Committee:  The committee will remain the same until May 2017.

Special Projects Committee: V. Gallo, Chair; R. Ivins, A. Mulvihill, C. Goldberg and B. Weeks.

     Motion to accept made by D. Cofrancesco, seconded by R. Wilson and passed unanimously.  

SBHC Liaisons: A. Levison, A. Mulvihill and K. Blake.

     Motion to accept made by D. Cofrancesco, seconded by V. Gallo and passed unanimously.

These appointments will be updated on the QVHD website.

                                                                         QUINNIPIACK VALLEY HEALTH DISTRICT ANNUAL MEETING

Appointment of QVHD Medical Director

V. Gallo made a motion, seconded by R. Wilson, to reappoint Dr. Joseph Zelson as QVHD medical advisor. The motion passed unanimously.

Appointment of QVHD Auditor

A motion was made by C. Goldberg, seconded by D. Cofrancesco to reappoint Michael Federico as the auditor for QVHD. The motion passed unanimously. Mr. Federico will send a letter of engagement.

                                                              ANNUAL MEETING FOR MOM’S CLINIC, THE SCHOOL BASED HEALTH CENTER AT HAMDEN HIGH

A motion to reappoint Dr. Sheryl Ryan as the medical director for Mom’s Clinic was made by D. Cofrancesco, seconded by R. Wilson and passed unanimously. 

 FINANCIAL REPORT

L. Balch apologized for the incorrect financial report that was mailed out. She distributed copies of the June and August 2016 reports and noted that only minor format changes had been made because updated State funding amounts vary from the estimated amounts used for the Approved Budget and as such will make it difficult to monitor. Board input for a final Board Report Format was requested. Following the discussion, the format will be modified to include: Adopted FY17 Budget; the Adjusted FY17 Budget; the Current Month; FY17 year to date; and Variance from Adjusted FY17 Budget.

• R. Wilson would like to see how the salaries are expended. Grant funding is allocated to salaries on a quarterly basis, and will be evident in the emailed financial report.
• V. Gallo asked about the expenses for the banking/payroll and postage. L. Balch noted that the banking/payroll run about $220.00 per month and that we are currently questioning a $300 ADP charge for “programming”.
• D Culligan noted the postage meter is filled 2-4 times per year.

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

 ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS

Health Education reported by D. Culligan

• The SBHC grant received an additional cut (from the Governor, not the legislature.) The funding is now at the lowest level of State grant dollars received since the program began. D. Culligan distributed a summary data sheet for this past school year, noting the doubling of patient visits when there is staff available to see them. Currently, 87 new members have been enrolled since August. The SBHC report card should be available at the next Board meeting.
•  The Community Health Assessment (CHA) survey wrapped up at the end of August. There were 346 surveys collected: 312 district residents and 34 non-resident workers. The sample was representative of the proportion of the population of towns (except for North Haven which was slightly lower) and the racial demographics. The top four community health needs identified by the respondents were: accessible health care, safe places to work and play, mental health services and job opportunities. Data analysis is preliminary. A report will be compiled when the analysis is complete.
•  The key informant component of the assessment is underway, with 7 completed interviews. D. Culligan noted that key informants are community members who have been identified as knowledgeable about the community they represent. They are queried in regards to community needs rather than personal needs. 
• The pertussis program has been revised. QVHD will now offer the Tdap immunization every month. The program will be evaluated at the end of December. This revision was made to be able to offer the program more frequently and to reduce the cost of the program.  

• Oral health grant: The objectives of the oral health grant have been accomplished. Two oral health days were held over the summer months: one at Bethany Library and one at Woodbridge Farmer’s market. D. Culligan will continue to send out oral health alerts to the oral health advocates that have been cultivated.

• D. Culligan reminded Board members to visit our Facebook page and twitter account. They are easily accessible from the QVHD website, www.qvhd.org

Director of Health Report, L Balch

• QVHD was is one of 6 Health Departments and Districts chosen to participate in a  $30,000/year for 3 years CDC opioid grant. Grantees have not yet received the conditions of participation or a funding timeline. It appears to be an awareness program, at least for the first year. There is a required Train the Trainer component for outreach that is currently being scheduled by CT DPH. More information to follow re: participants and appropriate training of a student intern.
• State regionalization of health departments in CT is being proposed for January 1^st, 2020. You have received a draft copy of the changes in the statutes that are being discussed. A timeline for submission to the legislature has not yet been announced, but could be initiated in the 2017 session. Regionalization by County (8 districts or 9 COG districts)  with the 5 largest Cities remaining independent was presented to Health Directors at a September 15^th meeting. The initial funding request is being discussed at 1.5% of each town’s operating budget. QVHD will follow and report on the progression of this proposal.
•  A small group of Quinnipiac University, Netter School of Medicine students have joined with QVHD to be part of the CHA process L. Balch hopes this project may lead to an ongoing connection.
• Competency-based job descriptions will be developed as a component of the PHAB process and will serve as a basis for Workforce Development. Although Job Descriptions are separate from the Job Classifications contained in the Union Contract, discussion during Union Contract negotiations are planned.
• A proposed Code of Conduct and A  Confidentiality Agreement will be distribute to Board members for consideration at the next October Board meeting. Both of the documents will fulfill a PHAB requirement and clarify policies currently in place at QVHD.
• L. Balch is interested in digitizing QVHD records to free up space, improve community access, and relieve weight-load on floor. A quote has been requested from Iron Mountain. A health department colleague from Farmington digitalized records at a cost of $45,000. QVHD might need to begin with K. Blake’s suggested partnering with area schools to see if they could assist. The Special Projects Committee was asked to look into available grant funding for this project.
• A commendation for K. Amodio, staff Registered Sanitarian was noted for her excellent work in source identification and blood level reduction for 3 district children with blood lead levels since the beginning of FY17.
• There are several State and local Emergency Preparedness Drills scheduled in late September through October that QVHD will be participating in.   
• L. Balch learned about another state health insurance program through the Union representative. Upon investigation, she learned that QVHD can switch to this plan and will see a cost savings of about $40,000 after the current year due to a one-time $10,000 penalty for early termination of the current plan. The benefits will be the same. Coverage will begin October 1, 2016 and employee contributions will remain at 5% until the Union contract is negotiated.

 At 6:05, a motion to move into Executive Session for the purposes of discussion concerning the evaluation and performance of the Health Director was made by R. Ivins, seconded by D. Cofrancesco and passed unanimously.

 At 7:02, a motion to return to Regular Session was made by R. Ivins, seconded by C. Goldberg and passed unanimously.

 A three-year appointment (October 1, 2016 through September 30, 2019) as Director of Health was accepted by L. Balch.

 At 7:05, a motion to adjourn was made by C. Goldberg, seconded by A. Levison and passed unanimously.

 Minutes prepared by D. Culligan.

 The next regular QVHD Board meeting will be held October 27, 2016 at 4:30 PM at the QUINNIPIACK VALLEY HEALTH DISTRICT office.