Merrimack Valley Public Health Alliance

By City Clerk at 8:45 am, Mar 07, 2025 NOTICE OF OPEN PUBLIC MEETING Merrimack Valley Public Health Alliance Date: March 4, 2025 Time: 2 pm - 3 pm Meeting Location: ​ Virtual: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88294190778 DRAFT MEETING MINUTES FOR VIRTUAL MEETING Voting Attendees: Non-Voting Attendees: a.​ Deb Ketchen, Amesbury a.​ Erika Syokau, BME Strategies b.​ Chris Berube, Merrimac b.​ Collin Schaefer, Regional Health c.​ Rosemary Decie, Groveland Inspector d.​ Deb Rogers, Newbury e.​ Frank Marchegiani, Rowley I.​ Call to Order a.​ Deb Ketchen motioned for the meeting to be called, and Deb Rogers seconded. The meeting was called to order at 2:04 pm with a quorum of 4/7 voting members present (Amesbury, Merrimac, Newbury, and Rowley) II.​ Approval of February 18th Minutes a.​ Deb Ketchen motioned for the meeting minutes to be accepted as written, and Chris seconded. The meeting minutes were approved with a vote of 4/7. III.​ Welcome Collin! a.​ Erika introduced Collin to the group and shared that his first day was spent going through the PHE Grant information and background. Collin is currently working to complete his virtual trainings. 1.​ Collin let the group know that he is looking forward to getting started. b.​ Erika let the group know that moving forward, Collin’s schedule will be sent to the group at the end of each week.  NOTICE OF OPEN PUBLIC MEETING Merrimack Valley Public Health Alliance 1.​ Erika informed the group that the advisory board will be able to utilize Smartsheets to request staff time and items. All regional staff members will be able to access the requests on the backend. a)​ Chris asked if Smartsheets is a Microsoft application. (1)​Erika informed the group that Smartsheets is a website. Regional staff members will have licenses, however, everyone can put in requests. Erika is working on getting regional staff licenses set up. IV.​ Hiring Updates a.​ Regional Public Health Nurse update 1.​ Erika gave an update on the regional nurse subcommittee interview. Erika, Chris, and Kelley, the BME nursing consultant, participated in the interview. 2.​ Erika shared some of the thoughts that Kelley shared following the interview with Pam. 3.​ Kelley stated that: a)​ Pam brings strong interpersonal skills, emergency management expertise, and the ability to work autonomously while effectively leveraging public health resources. Pam has a well-rounded background with her experience in hospice, acute care hospital settings, and over a decade of public health work addressing food insecurity and environmental health. b)​ Erika shared that Pam is from the area and is interested in seeking grant opportunities. c)​ Erika also shared that Pam is still interested in working 8 hours for Rowley. (1)​Chris agreed with all the statements and stated that Pam interviewed well. Chris stated that she would be a great fit for the role.  NOTICE OF OPEN PUBLIC MEETING Merrimack Valley Public Health Alliance 4.​ The group was in favor of moving forward with hiring Pam Palombo as the regional public health nurse. 5.​ Chris asked what salary Pam would be offered. a)​ Erika stated that the salary is listed at $75,000. b)​ Chris stated that since Pam is working 32 hours per week, the salary should be adjusted to $62,500. (1)​Deb Rogers stated that because Pam is a registered nurse, she does not think it would be enough money. (a)​ Frank agreed and let the group know that she is an excellent nurse and worth the full salary. (2)​Chris thought it was best to adjust her salary due to the hourly figure. (a)​ Erika clarified that her pay would be salary. (3)​Deb Rogers asked if she would be doing clinical work such as flu clinics and blood pressure clinics. (a)​ Erika stated that she would be administrating flu and blood pressure clinics, and Pam will mainly cover MAVEN in Rowley, meaning that each week could vary. Pam could end up working less than the 8 hours in Rowley. (4)​Rosemary stated that because the salary is listed at $75,000, it would make sense to offer that due to her experience. Rosemary also shared that it would be too difficult to justify what part-time vs full-time hours would look like. (a)​ Chris expressed concerns due to negotiations. (i)​ Erika informed the group that we have room in the budget to adjust her salary if need be.  NOTICE OF OPEN PUBLIC MEETING Merrimack Valley Public Health Alliance c)​ Rosemary motioned to hire Pam as the regional public health nurse at the salary of $75,000 for 32 hours. Deb Rogers seconded the motion. A roll call vote was done. (1)​Amesbury: yes (2)​Merrimac: yes (3)​Newbury: yes (4)​Rowley: yes (5)​Groveland: yes d)​ Erika shared with the group that she will work with Amesbury to create and finalize all hiring documents for Pam. V.​ FPHS Progress a.​ Erika asked each community about their current status of completing the FPHS cost tool. 1.​ Amesbury: Deb Ketchen has not gotten a chance to get in and has been too busy. 2.​ Merrimac: Chris and Deb have not gotten a chance to get together to go through the cost tool. Chris and Deb decided they would meet on Friday, 3/7, to go over the cost tool. a)​ Chris is more concerned about the time it takes to gather the information rather than inputting the data. Chris will let Erika know what support they need in Merrimac. 3.​ Newbury: Deb Rogers stated that she had not gotten a chance to get to it. Deb was planning to work with Bill and Frank to go through the cost tool together. Deb will reach out to Bill and Frank to coordinate times for next week. 4.​ Groveland: Rosemary has not been able to get into the cost tool. b.​ Erika shared that Janice has kindly offered to enter the financial data on behalf of each municipalities into the cost tool.  NOTICE OF OPEN PUBLIC MEETING Merrimack Valley Public Health Alliance 1.​ Rosemary stated that since she has limited time, it is difficult to obtain the financial information. a)​ Erika will follow up with a check-in with Groveland to understand the support Groveland needs. VI.​ Community Updates a.​ Training opportunities 1.​ Erika reminded the group that the virtual hoarding training is on March 11th from 8 am - 3 pm and to register if they have not already. a)​ Erika shared that there is a second virtual part to this hoarding training. b)​ Erika informed the group that the dates for the second part of the training are April 29th and May 27th. (1)​Everyone was generally in favor of the April 29th date; Chris was the only one who stated that she would not be able to attend the April 29th date. 2.​ Erika also informed the group that the Mental Health First Aid training dates are April 30th or May 1st, and this would be an in-person, day training. Erika asked the group how they felt about this training. a)​ Frank let the group know that all-day training is hard. b)​ The group asked if there was a way to split up the training to have the first part in person and the second part virtual. (1)​Erika will follow up with the trainer to see if this is a possibility. (2)​Chris and Deb Ketchen offered space in Merrimac to hold the in-person portion of the training. b.​ Strategic Planning Scheduling 1.​ Erika reminded the group of the strategic planning schedule. a)​ March 18th at 1:30 pm b)​ April 8th at 1:30 pm  NOTICE OF OPEN PUBLIC MEETING Merrimack Valley Public Health Alliance c)​ May 13th at 1:30 pm d)​ June 10th at 1:30 pm (1)​Deb Ketchen stated that she will not be able to make it for the March 18th meeting. (2)​Chris will not be able to attend the April 8th meeting due to traveling but will keep Erika updated. (3)​Everyone else confirmed that they were okay with these dates. 2.​ Erika reminded the group that if they are unable to attend, they should inform Erika ahead of time. Erika informed the group that the BME Strategic planning team is happy to adjust the time frame to accommodate more people if that time frame does not work. 3.​ Erika reminded the group that the monthly coalition meetings fall on the first Tuesday of the month at 2 pm. 4.​ Erika shared a diagram that describes the different areas where BME supports the Merrimack Valley communities. a)​ Region 3 Emergency Preparedness b)​ MVPHA SSC c)​ Strategic Planning c.​ Website update 1.​ Erika showed the demo website to the group. The group was happy with the way the website looked. a)​ Erika asked the group how they felt about having their pictures on the website. (1)​The group was not interested in having their pictures on the website. Erika offered that regional staff members should have their pictures so folks know who to contact.  NOTICE OF OPEN PUBLIC MEETING Merrimack Valley Public Health Alliance (a)​ Collin was okay with having his picture uploaded. b)​ Erika asked the group to think about community resources that can be shared on the website. Erika will ask each municipality during check-ins about the resources that should be linked to the website. (1)​Chris asked Erika if she could add the topic of how to get resources to residents, such as the website. (a)​ Erika said that she would add it to the agenda for April and will work with Collin and the regional nurse to discuss resource sharing. VII.​ Next Steps a.​ BME 1.​ Erika will check in on the progress of FPHS for each community and coordinate times to meet with Janice. 2.​ Erika will finalize the training information for hoarding and mental health first aid dates. 3.​ Erika will work with InTouch to finalize the website details. 4.​ Erika will reach out for March check-ins. 5.​ Erika will work on the hiring documents with Amesbury for the regional public health nurse b.​ MVPHA 1.​ MVPHA should continue to work on completing the cost tool and reaching out to Janice for FPHS support. 2.​ MVPHA to attend strategic planning meeting on March 18th. VIII.​ Adjournment a.​ Deb Ketchen motioned to adjourn the meeting. Deb Rogers seconded the motion. The meeting was adjourned at 3:04 pm. Please Note: There will be no public participation in speaking at this meeting. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​  NOTICE OF OPEN PUBLIC MEETING Merrimack Valley Public Health Alliance PLEASE NOTE THAT THE BOARD OR COMMITTEE MAY ACT ON ITEMS IN A DIFFERENT ORDER THAN THEY APPEAR ON THIS AGENDA. ALSO, IF IT SO VOTES, THE BOARD OR COMMITTEE MAY GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION DURING THE MEETING. PERSONS INTERESTED ARE ADVISED THAT, IN THE EVENT ANY MATTER TAKEN UP AT THIS MEETING REMAINS UNFINISHED AT THE CLOSE OF THE MEETING, IT MAY BE PUT OFF TO A CONTINUED SESSION OF THIS MEETING, WITHOUT FURTHER NOTICE. Merrimack Valley Public Health Coalition Monthly Meeting March 4th 2025  Agenda I. Call to Order II. Approval of February 18th Minutes III. Welcome Collin! IV. Announcements & Reminders V. Hiring Update VI. PHE Spend Down VII. Technology/Relavent Next Steps VIII. IMA Update IX. Adjournment 1. Call to Order 2. Roll Call 3. Approval of Meeting Minutes Welcome Collin! What’s to Come…  Reminder A. MVPHA Meeting Cadence B. Strategic planning Schedule a. The MVPHA group only meets once a ● March 18th at 1:30 pm month on the first Tuesday of every ● April 8th at 1:30 pm month. ● May 13th at 1:30 pm ● June 10th a 1:30 pm In order to get the most out of this process. All coalition members should be present. We are happy to adjust the times if folks can’t make the full 1.5 hour. Reminder 1. Emergency Preparedness / Region 3 a. Erin Nihill 2. Merrimack Valley Public Health Alliance PHE Grant a. Erika 3. Strategic Planning a. Meghan & Antonella  Reminders 2. Hoarding Training 3. Mental Health First Aid a. Please register for the virtual hoarding a. Mental Health First Aid training dates are training on March 11th. From 8 am - 3 pm April 30th or May 1st b. There will be a second part of the training. i. Which date does the group prefer? Do folks prefer April 29th or May 7th? b. This will be an in person training session. i. Does anyone know of a space that we could use to hold this training? Reminders How is the completion of the FPHS cost tool Janice jchen@bmestrategies.com our BME coming along. Reminder this is due March support contact has kindly offered to enter 14th. the financial data on behalf of each municipalities into the cost tool (due March ● Amesbury? 14th) This will help you complete this ● Merrimac? specified section of FPHS collection and ● Georgetown? allow us to schedule a follow-up meeting to ● Groveland? discuss the data further. ● Newbury? ● Rowley? How do people feel about this option? ● West Newbury? Announcement ● What does the group think of the demo? ● Erika will need to compile a list of resources. Please share. ● Would you like your pictures on the website? Hiring Hiring: Nursing Update 1. Erika, Chris, and Kelley the BME nursing consultant interviewed Pam on Wednesday. a. Kelley’s thoughts: Pam brings strong interpersonal skills, emergency management expertise, and the ability to work autonomously while effectively leveraging public health resources. With experience in hospice, acute care hospital settings, and over a decade of public health work addressing food insecurity and environmental health, they have a well-rounded background aligning with the job duties. b. Pam is adept at navigating complex public health challenges, including disparities in income, food security, and perinatal mental health. Additionally, they have experience in public health education, grant writing, data analysis, and program impact tracking, demonstrating their ability to implement and sustain effective community health initiatives. Their calm, resourceful approach to crisis situations and ability to collaborate across sectors make them a strong candidate for this role as Regional Public Health Nurse for Merrimack Valley. c. Would be happy to continue working for Rowley and have adjusted hours through the grant. i. We could offer her 32 hours 2. Is the group in favor of offering Pam the role of regional public health nurse?  Hiring: Public health specialist 2. The Public Health Specialist Role has been finalized the duties and responsibilities of this third hire includes: a. The specialist will focus on data reporting, disease surveillance, community health programs, and environmental health services. Key duties include building relationships with communities, analyzing health data, developing resources, investigating diseases, and providing health education. Would work to support community referrals with the regional nurse. b. This is a combined mix an epidemiologist and community health worker. It wont limit us to hiring with based off one specific area. i. What does the group think about this role? ii. Can we move forward with a vote to approve this role? 1. Erika will work with Amesbury HR to post this, and all other posting sites. PHE Spending Itemized list for inspectional tools ● Each community needs to complete this sheet if they have items they would like to be purchased. ● There is a list already completed for Collin. PHE Ideas A. Trail Signs? B. CPR/ Narcan Event led by Nurse? C. Office Supplies for Regional staff a. Desks, chairs, cabinets? IMA  IMA Status Check In Amesbury ● Completed Merrimac? ● Completed (Erika needs copy) Georgetown? ● BOS needed more time to review the IMA, March 12th is the next meeting. Groveland ● Completed Rowley ● Completed Newbury ● Completed  Technology All communities have completed their Relavent Documents: Next Steps: Erika is working on iPad orders Each municipality has identified that they need one iPad + 1 for the regional inspector = 7 iPads in total iPads will be: ● Data enabled ● Have a rugged cases ● Have pencils *will probably have to purchase two/three iphones for the regional staff* Total Estimated Cost for Technology: around 17,000 What type of iPads does the group prefer? ● iPad Air ● iPad Mini  Adjournment Any Community Updates? Next MVPHA Coalition meeting: April 1st 2025 Next Strategic Planning meeting: March 18th 2025