BOARD OF HEALTH MINUTES

North Haven, CT

April 25, 2013

4:30 PM

In attendance: P. Marone; B. Scott-Moore; D. Cofrancesco; W. Kohlhepp; J. Donaldson; C. Goldberg;

A. Levison; M. Rochow.     D. Culligan, staff.  

Not in attendance: L. DeNegre; A. Sofair; R. Skeirik; R. Ivins.   Ex officio: L. Balch     

PRESIDENT’S COMMENTS

The meeting was called to order at 4:35 p.m. by President Donaldson. She offered her condolences to the Woodbridge Board members for the loss of their first selectman. She noted that there were two additions to the agenda: A report from the Special Projects Committee and an Executive Session.  

MINUTES

Motion by P. Marone to approve the minutes of the March 28, 2013 Board Meeting, seconded by W. Kohlhepp, and  accepted unanimously with the following corrections: 1) The correct bill number for the tattoo bill is 6590 2) Within the paragraph “Presentation of the QVHD Budget for FY 2014” the third sentence is amended as follows: The budget is based on realistic projections of revenue and expense using actual data from FY 12 and FY 13 (to date); and includes $109,000 contribution from the reserve towards anticipated operating expenses.            

FINANCIAL REPORT

D. Culligan presented the financial report on behalf of L. Balch who provided the following statement: Corrections and modifications will need to be made in next month’s financial report in the grant receipts and allocations, however the current financial status and progress since the last Board meeting is good. W. Kohlhepp requested that an amended financial report for March be presented at the next Board meeting along with the April financial report. The Board concurred. J. Donaldson noted that many revenue line items were higher than anticipated, which is a positive sign. A motion to accept the financial report and place it on file was made by D. Cofrancesco, seconded by P. Marone and passed unanimously.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Finance Committee

P. Marone reported that the public hearing about the budget occurred on April 18^th, 2013, having been properly publicized on April 4^th, 2013 in the New Haven Register. The hearing lasted about an hour and a half. Six members of the public were in attendance, all of whom were QVHD employees. He noted that it was a good education session and felt that the attendees had good questions and better understood the process of developing the QVHD budget. D. Culligan noted that L. Balch believes that a scheduled meeting with the QVHD staff and Board members during the annual budget preparation would be a worthwhile addition to the budgeting process. P. Marone, Finance Chair, moved to accept the recommended budget as the approved budget for FY 2014. The motion was seconded by W. Kohlhepp and passed unanimously.

Special Projects Committee

M. Rochow gave a report about the proposed tattoo licensing regulations as follows:

The Public Health Committee approved the Bill (#6590) with no objections. The bill then passed to the House. The House sent it to the Judiciary Committee as a penalty needed to be added in the event someone does tattooing without a license. On 04/24/2013, it was approved by the Judiciary Committee unanimously. It was then sent to the Labor and Appropriations Committee because the bill has a fiscal note of $60,000 for FY14 and $130,000 for FY 15. M. Rochow was not sure what a fiscal note on the bill means. She noted that Representative Sharkey is pushing the bill and that she and L. Balch were interviewed by his office. If Board Members would like to read the bill, it is

File # 577.

ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS

Health Education

D. Culligan reported:

·         The Hamden Earth Day was held on Saturday, April 20^th, 2013. QVHD staff and SCSC Interns attended. The SCSU students handled the game wheel for most of the day and did an excellent job. The program was very well attended.

·         Qvhd-Tips Family Health Letter distribution update: The health letter has been successfully posted on the North Haven and Hamden school website. Hamden even “tweeted” it out to its followers. Bethany sent the link home through its weekly newsletter. Woodbridge has not responded to emails. D. Culligan will need to follow up.

·         The QVHD Annual report has been posted on the website.

Director’s Report

The Director’s Report was read by D. Culligan on behalf of L. Balch:

·         During the past 1.5 weeks, QVHD staff have been investigating a potential foodborne outbreak as well as a small group of individuals for possible TB skin test conversions.

·         Staff have been informed and updated about the H7N9 Avian influenza circulating in China (which to date has not demonstrated sustained person-to-person transmission.)

·         The Southern Connecticut State University Fellowship Program of the CT-RI Public Health Training Center will be conducting focus groups on behalf of QVHD to collect community input for the community health assessment. L. Balch will update the Board as information is available.

·         The blood-lead concentration of concern has once again been decreased from 10ug/dl to 5ug/dl and is now referred to as the “reference value.” Changes to both provider and local health department required activity have been made. Based on the anticipated numbers for QVHD, the increase in caseload most likely won’t be significant. The number of children above the reference value is part of the formula for calculating the amount of State lead prevention monies each health department will receive each year.

·         Grants: At this point in time, the SBHC (School Based Health Center), the PHEP (Public Health Emergency Preparedness) and State lead-funding (minimum $6,000) look promising for FY 14. The HERR (Health Education Risk Reduction) in the amount of $13,382 does not.

At 5:00 p.m., a motion to move into Executive Session was made by W. Kohlhepp, seconded by B. Scott-Moore and passed unanimously.

At 5:27 p.m., a motion to return to regular session was made by W. Kohlhepp and seconded by P. Marone and accepted unanimously.  

At 5:30, a motion to adjourn was made by C. Goldberg, seconded by P. Marone and passed unanimously.  

Minutes prepared by: D. Culligan, QVHD staff

The next QVHD Board of Health meeting is scheduled for May 23, 2013, 4:30 p.m. at the QVHD office.