Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-11-15 Commissioners of Trust Funds Minutes � OFq O Town of Reading ai Meeting Minutes 0' YY�1', 1. "/ �:��J i°°'rM(oMvoP� 1 �ll C I � Fi :�A. -Board - Committee - Commission - Council: Commissioners of Trust Funds Sit NOV 29 PM 4: 05 Date: 2018-11-15 Time: 10:00 AM Building: Reading Town Hall Location: Lower Level Conference Room - Address: 16 Lowell Street Session: Open Session Purpose: Specific Business Version: Final Attendees: Members - Present: Elizabeth Klepeis, John Daly and Endrl Kume Members - Not Present: Andrew Friedman and Neil Cohen Others Present: Jane Burns, Eileen Dern and Tom Crossman Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Endri Kume Topics of Discussion: Mr. Daly called the meeting to order at 10:03AM. Discuss contract and better understand the transfer of Reading Response Lifeline clients to Philips Mr. Crossman introduced himself as the Key Account and Expansion Manager for Philips Healthcare and the person in charge for handling the transition of the accounts between Hallmark Health and Philips. Ms. Klepels asked Mr. Crossman to provide some more info about the fee scheduled and fee waiver. Mr. Crossman mentioned that the special was frequent however it was not guaranteed. The frequency varies from monthly to quarterly and there were some annual ones, however the promotions were not on a regular schedule. Ms. Burns Indicated that the current process and the level of customer and technical service that was being provided from Philips were not working for them. The key Issues were: lack of customer service and technical support. The direct phone line that was provided from Philips was not being picked up and calls were being routed to a call center where no one knew about the Reading Response service. Billing was incorrect and elderly clients were being billed for technical service support. Ms. Burns also mentioned that the "coupon" discount process in place was not working as it was very difficult to manage and extremely time consuming. Mr. Crossman mentioned that the direct line had 4 designated representatives specifically setup for this service. Ms. Burns confirmed that her assistant called the line at 9:30AM in the morning 3 times and not one picked up. Mr. Crossman made a note of that and asked that going forward Ms. Burns and her staff get In touch with him directly If there Is an issue. Ms. Dern informed the group that one of the main reasons Hallmark Health was transitioning this service to Philip was the high demand and they simply couldn't keep up with it anymore. Hallmark was low staffed so they couldn't keep up the requests and Page I 1 business grew too fast. Ms. Dern and her associates had to work overtime and weekends just to keep up with the demand. However they did this as they had a high passion for the job and really enjoyed serving their client base. Due to the low rates and charges the business was not that profitable and sometime in the red. All of these factors combined with the growing client base forced Hallmark to move out of this business. Ms. Bums thank Ms. Dern for the outstanding customer service that they had provided to the Town. Mr. Crossman mentioned that the local touch was very Important and the Town of Reading had a very specific customer base that required the highest level of technical and customer support. Mr. Crossman and Ms. Dern agreed to start looking for a base program that would address all the Issues presented and provide a plan in the next month. Mr. Crossman indicated that there were other options that might be a better fit based on the needs that the Town had and he and Eileen were going to find out and present the Commissioners a few options. The prices might be a little different but we would see the fee schedule in advance before agreeing to a contract. Mr. Crossman presented a new product that Philips had which was a Lifeline device that operated with a push button and did not require a landline. The device needed to be charged every 3-5 days. Ms. Burns indicated this could be a challenge for some elderly, Mr. Crossman mentioned that it just needed to be charged and the user needs to plug in the charging cord. Plus the device will blink and a voice message that it needs charging was announced when the battery was low. There was a one-time fee of $149 for this device plus monthly charge of$54.95 of$64.95 depending on which model you picked. Ms. Klepeis mentioned that we would have to discuss this in more details and no action was needed at this time. Mr. Kume asked what the "Lockbox"service was. Mr. Crossman Informed the group that for a onetime fee of$30 a lockbox, with the property key, was installed outside of the premises. The codes were maintained by Philips and were shared with the Fire Department if needed. Ms. Burns mentioned that the Town was providing a similar service however there was a waiting list due to the availability of funds. Ms. Klepeis indicated that this was a good idea to bring It up for discussion on our next Trust Fund Commissioners meeting. On a motion by Ms. KI o is seconded by Mr. Daly, the Commissioners voted to adiourn its meetino at 11.20 AM by a vote of 3-0 Respectfully submitted, Secretary Page 1 2