No preview available
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-02-04 Board of Health Minutes tlV �: b t Town of Reading TCt^1N C_Lc%2K i Meeting Minutes - R4-- N21 FEB 22 AM 5: 24 Board - Committee - Commission - Council: Board of Health Date: 2021-02-04 Time: 7:00 PM Building: Location: Address: Session: Purpose: Open Session - Remote Meeting Version: Final Attendees: Members - Present: Chair Richard Lopez, Vice Chair Kerry Dunnell, Paula Curren; Associate Members: Geri Cramer, Kevin Sexton Members - Not Present: Others Present: Interim Health Director Peter Mirandi, Assistant Town Manager Jean Delios, Public Health Nurse Kristine Harris, Public Health Nurse Shuang Shen, Health Agent Laura Vlasuk Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Jacquelyn LaVerde Topics of Discussion: This meeting was held remotely via Zoom. Chair Richard Lopez called the meeting to order at 7:01 pm. Public Comment: There were no comments from the public. Minutes: Ms. Curren suggested replacing "patients`with "clients" in the COVID Vaccination Update section of the January 21, 2021 draft minutes. On a motion by Dr. Lopez, and seconded by Ms. Curren, the Board of Health voted 3-0-0 to approve the minutes of January 21, 2021 as amended. Roll call vote: Paula Curren-Yes, Kerry Dunnell-Yes, Richard Lopez-Yes. Reading Coalition Advisory Board Update: Kevin sexton shared information with the Board from last week's Reading Coalition for Prevention and Support meeting, in particular some programs the Coalition is trying to promote designed for mental health. Doc Wayne is a company that provides organized group therapy for kids through different means and extracurricular activities, such as sports. It helps kids who are struggling through individualized and group therapy by teaching a lot of leadership, inclusion tactics, working with each other, and problem solving. The company is trying to run the program at all elementary and middle schools. The Coalition received a grant through COVID-19 pandemic funds for Elliot Community Health Services to support Reading residents with mental health and substance abuse needs. Page 1 1 Also promoted by the Coalition is Riverside Trauma Center, which provides mental health counseling services. FY22 Budget Update: Ms. Delios stated that the budget requests are with the Town Manager, who will be submitting the balanced budget to the Finance Committee by February 28t^. The Finance Committee will begin their annual meetings on February 20 with the Schools budget, and is scheduled to hear the Town-side budgets beginning March 3r4 Health Division Staff Monthly Report: The Health Division continues to refine its reporting, and Mr. Mirandi provided some information for the Board. There were 165 permit renewals sent out, 99 of which have been received back. There were 16 inspections conducted in January. In 2020, many inspections were done later in the year due to COVID. But the Division is still on target to inspect all establishments twice per year - six months to complete inspections of all establishments, and six months for second inspections. After hearing the update, the Board agreed that they would like to see the data presented in a table or grid that outlines the figures for the current month, next to the figures for the year-to-date. Also needed are details and status of deliverables for emergency preparedness required by the state. COVID-19 Updates: Case Count Updates Public Health Nurse Kristine Harris provided the latest case counts for COVID-19 and noted there has been a decline in cases in the last 14 days. • Total case count from the onset of the pandemic to present: 1,583 • Current active cases including today's: 154 • Daily average: 6 • Total deaths: 46 • Transferred cases: 10 • Schools: o RMHS: 2 active cases o Middle Schools: 2 active cases o Elementary Schools: 4 total = 3 students and 1 staff o Austin Prep: 4 students - The head nurse says the cases are not determined to be school based transmission. • Clusters: o Christian Coop: 4 active students and class being quarantined Sandra Aaronson of the Contact Tracing Collaborative (CTC) informed Ms. Harris of an upcoming public forum on February 91" that stresses the need for people to do their part in contact tracing. Individuals answering the call and participating will make the process smoother and help data reporting. Since Christmas and the beginning of the year, everyone who worked MAVEN has reported difficulty in following up to close cases. The Board offered to assist by putting out a PSA for the public to answer the call for contact tracing, and posting a notice on the Town's COVID webpage. Ms. Harris will send the CTC meeting details to the Board. Mr. Mirandi requested guidance from the Board on reporting the data. Ms. Harris gathers the raw data from MAVEN each week, while Health Agent Laura Vlasuk provides data for Public Safety so if they get a call, they know which addresses have active COVID cases. The Board discussed the reason for the separate reporting piece for Public Safety and noted the concerns for the separate sources of information, the frequency of reporting, and the privacy of residents. Because at the beginning PPE was scarce, it was ok to have a report of which addresses would be a concern for exposure, but as things have evolved, and PPE Is available, Public Safety should be practicing universal precautions. The Board will ask Incident Command if there is still a need for the report. Page 1 2 COVID Vaccination Update There is a limited amount of vaccine available. The first dose vaccinations of Phase 1 will be finished tomorrow, and second dose varcinations for first responders will begin the following week. The Town should be receiving 100 doses per week. In order to receive the vaccine, the Town has to be able to project two weeks in advance and fill the clinic through PrepMod. To date, there have been 96 first responders and health care personnel vaccinated with the first dose over the last three weeks. Phase 2 will begin with a 100 dose clinic for those 75 years and older on February 12". The Health Division is working closely with the Fire Department to ensure there is an appropriate amount of vaccine at the clinics. Scheduling is done in groups of 10, with a waitlist for any extra doses, to ensure that no doses are wasted. The Elder and Human Services Division has a running list of approximately 300 people wanting to get the vaccine. The Senior Center staff can help register elders who do not have computer access. Civic Function/Recreation Permit Issues Mr. Mirandi stated that there have been three Civic Function and Recreation permits received since the last meeting, including two from the Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts to use the Town Forest for their safe outings. The final version of the public skating signs have been printed and should be posted soon. COVID Guideline Compliance for Food Establishments Ms. Curren has been tracking the project with safety guidelines at food establishments. So far, Health Agent Laura Vlasuk has visited six establishments to deliver the DPH Flyer with masking, social distancing, and handwashing protocols, and to let the establishments know that the Health Department is available to help. Re-Assessment of the Need for a Consultant Analysis of Board/Division• Protect Planning and Agendas for 2021: Dr. Lopez shared his proposed timeline and projects for 2021 including: recruitment and hire of a new Health Director; Request for Proposals (RFP) for a consultant to conduct an internal assessment and subsequent analysis; RFP for a Community Health Needs Assessment and Community Health Improvement Plan with subsequent analysis. The RFP for the internal assessment sent out late in 2020 only drew one proposal, which was significantly higher than what the Board had budgeted for the project. The Board discussed the timing of the internal assessment and whether to wait for a new Health Director to come on board before conducting it. Since it will be another three or four weeks before recruitment can begin on a Health Director, the Board agreed to work with Ms. Delios and Mr. Mirandi on re-scoping an RFP for an internal assessment, and wait on the Community Needs Assessment and Community Health Improvement Plan until the end of the year. Next Meeting Agenda Items• Final Comments: The Board briefly discussed the recent news of double masking. Dr. Lopez noted that in theory, viral particles associated with respiratory droplets would be less able to pass through two layers, and that there may be some further research worth doing. Ms. Dunnell reviewed a presentation from the recent DPH meeting about developing technology on cell phone proximity that can notify people anonymously that they may have had an exposure risk. It is currently being discussed, but a rollout is unknown, as there are a lot of privacy concerns, and success would depend on participation. On a motion by Dr. Lopez, and seconded by Ms. Curren, the Board of Health voted 3-0-0 to adjourn at 9:04 pm. Roll call vote: Paula Curren-Yes, Kerry Dunnell-Yes, Richard Lopez-Yes. Page 13