Board of Health

City of East Orange EAST ORANGE BOARD OF HEALTH REGULAR MEETING NEW JERSEY East Orange Department of Health & Human Services 143 New Street East Orange, New Jersey 07017 NOVEMBER 22, 2016 MEETING MINUTES Meeting call to Order @ 6:07 PM Board President Christine Harris read the following Sunshine Law: This meeting, which conforms to the provisions of the Open Public Meeting Act, Chapter 231, and Public Law of 1975 is a regular meeting of the City of East Orange Board of Health. Notices have been filed with our official newspaper, with the City Clerk and posted on regular bulletin boards. The public is permitted to participate at this meeting. After the roll call, it was determined there was a quorum to convene the meeting. Board Members Present: Christine Harris, President Tobbia M. Corbitt Horace H. Henry Board Members Absent Rosemarie Brown Reverend Jean E. Maurice Attorney Ryan Linder Mayoral Staff/Health Department Staff/Animal Control: Victor Kuteyi, Health Officer Diashana Coleman, Administrative Clerk, Department of Health Chesney Blue, WIC Coordinator Karen LaRussa, RN, Health Educator Dwight Saunders, Director Property Maintenance Guest Speakers: Karen Blumenfeld, Esq., Executive Director, Global Advisors on Smoke-free Policy (GASP) Emily Haines, Director, Partnership for Maternal & Child Health of Northern New Jersey Public in attendance: None Approval of September 20, 2016 Meeting Minutes Update to correct the wording of page 4 line 10 repeat of sentence in the September minutes. Motion made by Board Member Tobbia Corbitt and seconded by Board Member Horace Henry to accept the September 20, 2016 minutes. Approved by unanimous vote. The October 18, 2016 meeting was cancelled due to lack of quorum. pg. 1 City of East Orange EAST ORANGE BOARD OF HEALTH REGULAR MEETING NEW JERSEY East Orange Department of Health & Human Services 143 New Street East Orange, New Jersey 07017 NOVEMBER 22, 2016 MEETING MINUTES Announcements Board President Harris announced that Mrs. Barnes submitted her resignation from the Board of Health on October 1, 2016 because she is relocating. Board President Harris added that Mrs. Barnes was a loyal and valued board member and will be missed. Board President Harris announced the retirement party for former HHS & HO, Mrs. Evans which was held on September 29, 2016 at Libretti Restaurant in Orange. The gift from the Board was a plaque which was designed by Mrs. Corbitt, as well as a Proclamation which were presented. Board President Harris announced that she attended the open house and toured areas of the renovation of Prospect Medical Holdings East Orange General Hospital (EOGH) on Thursday, October 13, 2016. A ribbon cutting ceremony was held for the new Center for Bariatric Medicine and Weight Loss. Those in attendance included elected City officials and Mayor Taylor, Congressman Payne, Freeholders, Prospect Medical Holdings administrators and East Orange General Hospital top level administrators. On Saturday, October 15, 2016, East Orange General hosted a health fair which was well received. Board President Harris announced she attended the NJ League of Municipalities Annual Convention on Tuesday, November 15th and Wednesday, November 16th. and also attended the annual meeting of the New Jersey Association of County and City Health Officials (NJACCHO) where Ms. Kathleen Bennett, Commissioner of NJDOH was guest speaker. Ms. Bennett talked about a host of important health issues. To highlight a few,  Encouraging towns to create regulations restricting the sale of E-cigarettes to minors.  Establishing public parks and recreation smoke free areas,  Montclair State University dedicated a smoke free week this year,  Opioid abuse is now on the rise as a new substance abuse illness.  Importance of health department accreditation as it will be the main way of receiving grant funding.  NJ Department of Health (NJDOH) is targeting accreditation by June 2017. (East Orange BOH has discussed the issue of e-cigarette regulations but need more information before moving forward; public parks and recreation smoke free areas already in place for a couple of years with GASP assistance). President Harris introduced the guest speakers for the evening: Karen Blumenfeld, Esq., Executive Director from GASP, Emily Hines, Director, Partnership for Maternal Child Health of Northern New Jersey and Director Dwight Saunders, Director, City of East Orange Department of Property Maintenance (EODPM). pg. 2 City of East Orange EAST ORANGE BOARD OF HEALTH REGULAR MEETING NEW JERSEY East Orange Department of Health & Human Services 143 New Street East Orange, New Jersey 07017 NOVEMBER 22, 2016 MEETING MINUTES City Director Speaker Director Saunders addressed the BOH concerns about the rodent and the increasing raccoon population living in the abandoned houses which is a problem in the City of East Orange. He also stated there is $400 million dollars of development occurring throughout the city which means there is unearthing of the ground going into their territory where the vermin have been living for years. Although his staff bates the areas the EODPM is doing their best to force contractors to bate the projects they are working on. Director Saunders stated the challenges that the EODPM faces when they receive constituent calls is a request for setting traps and his staff was instructed to avoid racoons because of the possibility they may have rabies. President Harris commented to Director Saunders the vermin issue cannot be easily resolved as they have had many years to propagate. He stated there have been conversations with the Department of Health regarding this matter and he proposed that maybe an outside company needs to be hired. Since the Health Department has limited resources, the EODPM is considering setting aside funds in its 2017 department budget from the Vacant and Abandoned Property revenue generated, which is unanticipated revenue. Director Saunders stated since November 2014, the Vacant and Abandoned Property initiative has generated $3.2 million dollars in unanticipated revenue which his department uses to knock down buildings which pose imminent danger and also to clean up properties. President Harris asked Director Saunders if animal control is involved in helping EODPM with the feral cat issue. He stated that Animal Control is involved in the process and stressed the importance of hiring more ACO because of the number of animals that are throughout the city. Also, he stated many residents are concerned about non-licensed dogs in the city. He also stated that he would like the Health Department to increase efforts to enforce the Dog License Ordinance. Director Saunders stated another concern of residents is owners not picking dog waste throughout the city. He addressed this concern to Sheila Coley, Director of Public Safety, stating that the Public Safety officers need to increase their efforts of enforcing this issue. President Harris asked if the City of East Orange has an ordinance on how animal waste is picked up? Director Saunders stated yes, however it is not being enforced. Board member Horace asked Director Saunders about the amount of abandoned buildings in the City of East Orange? Director Saunders stated there are 1,047 abandoned properties in which the owners of 836 properties have been located and they are maintaining their properties, but, 352 owners have not been located. And, he stated there are three ways in which action can take place on the property: through spot blight imminent domain, receivership and special tax sales. He discussed the issue with the Corporation Counsel regarding the abandoned property ordinance. This gives a town tools needed to acquire the property and get it back on the tax roll. The other action is receivership which is the quickest way to get the property back on the tax roll. He stated there are 20-30 developers with the means to acquire the properties and bring them to the tax rolls at the same time. However, if the owner comes forward he would make the contractor hold on the project. Director Saunders stated properties which are on the vacant and abandoned property list pg. 3 City of East Orange EAST ORANGE BOARD OF HEALTH REGULAR MEETING NEW JERSEY East Orange Department of Health & Human Services 143 New Street East Orange, New Jersey 07017 NOVEMBER 22, 2016 MEETING MINUTES have been on the list for the 3 years since he found out about the law existed and prior to the three years no one did anything with the information. Additionally, he is proposing the properties go to people with money who can fix the houses and bring them back on the tax rolls as well as affordable housing rental properties. Director Saunders explained that under receivership if the owner does not come back to the property a developer can go to the court and get a judgement to receive the title within 6 months. The third action which can be taken is a special tax sale. He explained the law stated in a special tax sale, if a developer or person buys the tax certificate, they can foreclose on the property the next day versus a regular tax sale where it takes two years to foreclose. Director Saunders stated the City of East Orange received the Governance Award because of the initiatives of the abandon and vacant property program which is in alignment with Mayor Taylor’s vision that the City of East Orange will set the standard for urban excellence and become a destination city. Furthermore, Director Saunders stated that the city is well on its way to getting there with many people investing money and believing in the city particularly developers who said they would never come back to East Orange are in fact returning with million dollar investments. Additionally, he stated that the city is leading in all its initiatives Mayor Taylor’s administration set forth, such as, the golf course and water department and he is proud to be part of the current renewal. President Harris asked if there is anything special that the Director needs to do to find out about the special tax sales. Director Saunders stated that he is working with the law department and Director Valerie Jackson of the Department of Planning putting plans together to move on property development initiatives by the beginning of 2017 which will help the town, lower taxes and help with East Orange’s progress. President Harris asked Director Saunders for updated information on the vacant lot across from Brick Church. He stated the vacant lot is going to be developed and the groundbreaking will take place between January and February 2017. On Evergreen Place there will be a Holiday Inn Express and there are renditions of a hotel which will range from 18-30 stories overlooking the highway; outside of City Hall there will be a 20-30 story building; located by Cicely Tyson Fine and Performing Arts High School will be an arts district; at 125 S. Harrison Street, which was abandoned for many years, there will be a building on the property; at 315 S. Harrison Street the foundation for a building is being constructed; on Park Avenue there is almost completion of a new property; LaCasa De Don Pedro is doing an affordable housing project in the teen streets; on Eaton Place there is project taking place and more information can be found in the Mayor’s monthly message newsletter. President Harris thanked Director Saunders for attending the meeting. President Harris asked HO Kuteyi to discuss the Health Department updates. HO Kuteyi stated from the Health Department perspective rodent issues are separated from Animal Control and are classified under pesticides. He also stated when demolitions take place there is a 2-3 week notice where the Health Department talks with the construction worker about bating the environment, the streets and the surrounding area around the building before the demolition starts. Also, the construction worker shows everything they are ready to do for the battement. He reiterated the pg. 4 City of East Orange EAST ORANGE BOARD OF HEALTH REGULAR MEETING NEW JERSEY East Orange Department of Health & Human Services 143 New Street East Orange, New Jersey 07017 NOVEMBER 22, 2016 MEETING MINUTES Health Department does everything to ensure it is going to be done properly. Also, they work with the Department of Property Maintenance on demolitions and ask for the exterminating company who will bate the property before the work starts. Director Saunders stated the standard operating procedure of the building division when a contractor pulls a demolition permit they have to bring the pest control and asbestos reports, as well as, other reports required by law. Additionally, he stated the biggest problem are the abandoned homes where contractors are doing renovations, and vermin are coming from these properties. Unfortunately, property maintenance does not have control over the private contractors unless an inspector drives by, sees the renovation and asks the contractors if they have gone through the permit process and if the contractor has not they get fined. HO Kuteyi commented the pesticide unit bates all city properties, puts black boxes in place and helps senior citizens who are unable to pay for bating and exterminating services. Also, if the Health Department finds out the City has acquired a property that is to be demolished or restored they are bated. HO Kuteyi stated there is a stockpile of bates in the garage, black boxes in the silver cabinet and a pesticide truck. He added when he attends ward meetings and seniors have serious financial problems or are living close by an abandoned property or vacant lot they trim the weeds to see the burrowing places to bate and put the silver boxes for the mice, however there is a need for more funding to purchase more of those materials. HO Kuteyi commented the Health Department is in the process of hiring more ACO’s because at the animal shelter there is one part-time worker to clean the facility. Additionally, the ACO’s have also been helping out with cleaning the animal shelter, however, when an additional kennel attendant is hired it will the ACO’s do other work. President Harris asked about the staff that cleans the animal shelter. HO Kuteyi stated there is one kennel attendant remaining, Ms. Hankerson, who was hired as a part-time staffer who cleans the shelter in the morning and is an ACO at night. President Harris asked about the other staff member who worked in the shelter. HO Kuteyi stated that he left, however, the RFP to hire more staffers is in the Procurement Office. President Harris stated the BOH should review all RFP’s before they go to procurement. HO Kuteyi stated going forward he will present the RFP’s to the BOH before going to procurement. President Harris commented the need is immediate to hire staff for the animal shelter and wanted to know if the vacancy requests has been submitted to the public? HO Kuteyi stated it has been sent out and authorized by CFO William Senande to hire another ACO and kennel attendant. Board Member Corbitt asked if cleaning is part of the job description of the ACO’s. HO Kuteyi stated that it is not part of their job description but the ACO’s are trying to help out. Board Member Horace asked if any of the communicable diseases are rodent related. HO Kuteyi stated that they are not, and East Orange is very fortunate to not have those issues. Guest Speaker: pg. 5 City of East Orange EAST ORANGE BOARD OF HEALTH REGULAR MEETING NEW JERSEY East Orange Department of Health & Human Services 143 New Street East Orange, New Jersey 07017 NOVEMBER 22, 2016 MEETING MINUTES President Harris introduced Emily Hines, Director, and Partnership for Maternal & Child Health of Northern New Jersey. Ms. Hines stated she is from the Newark office and they are in 8 counties in New Jersey. She stated they have different programs such as home visits, hotlines, and family success centers. She explained her role in Public Health is to oversee all the immunization initiatives. Ms. Hines stated the initiative she came to discuss with the BOH is the “Protect Me with Three Plus” contest for middle and high school students which has taken place statewide for 5 years. The contest is a collaboration with the State Department of Health and is open to all students throughout New Jersey. Ms. Hines stated last year there were 215 submissions and out of those submissions there were 12 finalists whom attended an awards ceremony in the Spring. She stated students can begin submitting for the contest from December 5, 2016. through January 27, 2017. Also, she added every year the posters are made into “Protect Me with Three Plus” posters distributed throughout the state. Also, high school students can submit a short video based on the adolescent immunizations. Ms. Hines stated they are promoting the Tdap (Pertussis), meningococcal, HPV and the flu vaccines, addressed in the contest and recommended for teens. The plus applies to the flu which is seasonal and is recommended for everyone 6 months of age and older. Ms. Hines stated the website was translated to Spanish this year and there is a tab to switch the languages. Also, the information tab recommends vaccines and informs people what is a vaccine. She added there is a tab for youth, parents and teachers (under the teacher tab there is information which can be used in the classroom). Ms. Hines stated Essex County has not been well represented in the contest. However, they have been reaching out to the schools and school nurses, placing contest fliers around, promoting incentives and prizes for the students. Nurse Karen LaRussa commented she is using her contacts to help Ms. Hines promote the contest throughout Essex County. Ms. Hines stated she was grateful for Nurse LaRussa’s help. She explained the posters go through the various screening team starting January 27th to ensure that the rules have been followed; then the eligible submissions go to various teams for judgement; the finalists are put on the website for public voting and they are invited to an awards ceremony in the spring. The contest is open to students statewide in grades 5 through 12. President Harris asked about program training for the school nurses. Ms. Hines responded they inform school nurses about the contest, with mixed responses. There is hesitation from some districts to discuss the contests because they associate the HPV vaccine with sexual activity. However, they do not have to discuss that vaccine if they do not want to because they can choose the other vaccines to promote for the contest. President Harris commented on the importance of protection against HPV through education. Ms. Hines stated that they work with pediatricians, nurse practitioner and family practice practitioners to help them to learn have to have the conversation with parents for the HPV vaccine. However, the hesitation with many practitioners is that they believe many parents will take the recommendation the wrong way. Additionally, in the last year New Jersey rates have improved. pg. 6 City of East Orange EAST ORANGE BOARD OF HEALTH REGULAR MEETING NEW JERSEY East Orange Department of Health & Human Services 143 New Street East Orange, New Jersey 07017 NOVEMBER 22, 2016 MEETING MINUTES Nurse LaRussa commented about the hot spots for HPV in East Orange and asked Ms. Hines to discuss their work with Dr. Betoush to improve those areas in East Orange with high rates of HPV. Ms. Hines discussed the work with Dr. Betoush, Nursing Professor at Rutgers University who is doing research in East Orange, Orange, Newark, and Irvington on cervical cancer rates and parent focused groups on what their perception is on the vaccine for their children. She stated that Dr. Betoush is doing a new study for providers and healthcare administrators through interviews about their opinion on parent perceptions, as well as, their practice on recommending the vaccination and the barriers to administering the HPV immunization. Nurse LaRussa commented that East Orange is one of their focal points and Dr. Betoush’s team will meet to discuss and determine whom to facilitate the research project in the City. President Harris commented Commissioner Bennett discussed the statistics on the rise of STD’s in the United Stated particularly in New Jersey. And, with STD’s on the rise, HPV will also increase and it will become increasingly more important for parents to talk to their children about sexual behavior and practicing safe sex. Additionally, President Harris commented on the beauty, creativity, informative and eye-catching presentation of the posters to both youth and adults. Nurse LaRussa stated that she sent the posters to the school nurses in East Orange and encouraged them to work with the art divisions in their schools to help the children to develop their projects, as well as, using the website. Ms. Hines stated many students work as a team which teaches teamwork, organizational skills, and becomes a nice classroom project for the students. Mrs. Corbitt asked Ms. Hines if she would be able to speak at various parent support groups to disseminate the information. Ms. Hines stated they are available to speak to various community organizations and they have on staff, an Adolescent Immunization specialist, Kendra Julien, who speaks to various groups. Mrs. Corbitt commented many parents are uncomfortable with the HPV recommendation for their child, however, it is a health protection for their lives. Ms. Hines added many doctors do not recommend the HPV vaccine for children with disabilities because they may not be seen as sexually active but down the road they contract cervical cancer and were never protected with the vaccination, therefore, it is very important that parents with children with disabilities receive the information too. Nurse LaRussa commented on the program Someone You Love. Ms. Hines explained the Someone You Love documentary is an hour long video that follows 5 women who are diagnosed with HPV and cervical cancer and their experiences. She explained there are DVD kits for schools and churches where they can host and show unlimited free screenings. President Harris thanked Ms. Hines for coming to the BOH meeting to discuss the contest, the website and educational efforts regarding immunizations. President Harris introduced Karen Blumenfeld, Esq., Executive Director, Global Advisors on Smokefree Policy (GASP). Ms. Blumenfeld thanks the BOH for inviting her to the meeting to discuss what is trending regarding tobacco control. She stated East Orange is on the pg. 7 City of East Orange EAST ORANGE BOARD OF HEALTH REGULAR MEETING NEW JERSEY East Orange Department of Health & Human Services 143 New Street East Orange, New Jersey 07017 NOVEMBER 22, 2016 MEETING MINUTES forefront with the passage of the ordinance to ban smoking in the parks. Additionally, many other municipalities have followed suit in New Jersey. She added there are two iterations of a state bill which was vetoed by Governor Christie but indicated that towns have the right to pass legislation if they choose. Ms. Blumenfeld thanked East Orange for being in the leadership role in Essex County. She added it has been two years since the county banned tobacco in county parks which GASP has been working on for some time as well. She thanked Freeholder Gil for also being instrumental in the passage of the legislation and stated if more signs are needed for the parks to reach out to GASP to obtain signs. Ms. Blumenfeld stated school grounds is a separate law that requires all school properties private or public k-12 are supposed to be 100% smoke free which includes vaping and no e- cigarettes. The state law does not require to be 100% tobacco free and chewing tobacco is still permissible unless a board of education has a policy that they have enacted that requires that the school properties be tobacco free. Additionally, Ms. Blumenfeld stated that the board of educations need to be very clear on how they define tobacco in their policies and if they do not she stated GASP has language that can be used in policies to modify and revise their school policies to include all types of tobacco. Mrs. Corbitt asked for clarification of the smoking free areas, such as, inside of the building or perimeter of the building? Ms. Blumenfeld responded that it means fence to fence which includes all indoor and outdoor property, sporting events, off-site school sponsored activities and transportation needs to also be smoke-free including no vaping. Nurse LaRussa commented that East Orange has included all forms of tobacco in their smoke-free policy. Ms. Blumenfeld stated there are two different types of initiatives trending regarding tobacco control local ordinances. The first initiative is raising the age to 21 to be sold tobacco and vape products because 90% of people initiate usage before that age. Additionally, there is a lot of support from the national level, regarding increasing the sale of tobacco to age 21. And, according to a study conducted by the National Institute of Health (NIH), they estimated that 250,000 lives would be saved, longevity prolonged if the age is raised. Ms. Blumenfeld stated, in New Jersey, 21 communities have raised the age to 21 to be sold tobacco products. The law states you must be 19 or older to be sold tobacco products and if an underage person is sold products the retailer faces a penalty not the young adult buyer. Ms. Blumenfeld clarifies there is no state law that puts the burden on the purchaser it is only on the seller, however, there are local ordinances in the state that do require the buyer also needs to be of age. And, historically that has been pushed by the tobacco industry because they wanted to move the burden from the retailer onto the young adult. So, in the stated that have that type of law where it penalizes the buyer, historically that has been the tobacco industry way of removing the burden of responsibility from the retailer. President Harris asked what the law clearly stated on tobacco buying? Ms. Blumenfeld stated that the law says you cannot sell tobacco or e-cigarettes to anyone under the age of 19 and you must be 19 and older to be sold tobacco and related products. She stated that pg. 8 City of East Orange EAST ORANGE BOARD OF HEALTH REGULAR MEETING NEW JERSEY East Orange Department of Health & Human Services 143 New Street East Orange, New Jersey 07017 NOVEMBER 22, 2016 MEETING MINUTES municipalities are saying that is not high enough of an age because 90% of the people who start using tobacco do so before they turn 21 years-old and this research is confirmed by the American Pediatrics Association and other medical organizations which makes a big difference for the lives of young adults. Also, there is a lot of initiation of tobacco use by younger college students and the increase in the age would eliminate the initial use. Plus, studies show the trickling off use by the age of 23 years-old when people are not initiated in the use of tobacco. Ms. Blumenfeld sited some of the communities which have increased the age of purchasing tobacco; Belleville, Maplewood, West Orange, Paterson, Union City and are very clustered in northern New Jersey. Ms. Blumenfeld presented the BOH with a legal opinion letter, dated 2015, from Senator Cody asking the Office of Legislative Services (OLS), could towns be preempted by state law. And, the response Senator Cody received is the following: “towns have the authority to do these type of policies to raise the age to 21and that they should not be preempted by the state President Harris asked Ms. Blumenfeld about the national policy on purchasing tobacco under 19 years-old. She stated that in New Jersey you have to be 19 and older, however, the federal government has a policy of 18 years old. And, retailers by federal law are required to card anyone that looks under the age of 27 years old before they sell tobacco products. Ms. Blumenfeld stated the laws do help with prevention. She cited an example in Meedham, Massachusetts where they raised the age to 21 to be sold tobacco and found a declining market for youth initiating tobacco, as well as, obtaining tobacco products. Ms. Blumenfeld added one-third of all youth who initiate tobacco at a young age die from a tobacco related illness; American Academy of Pediatrics issued a strong recommendation to increase the age to 21 as did the American Medical Association. She stated the initiatives to reduce tobacco initiation and help people quit is to strive to have lower healthcare cost in New Jersey particularly of smoking-related illnesses which is 3 billion dollars a year. Ms. Blumenfeld stated another trend are communities wanting retail licenses, which currently is not required by New Jersey, to sell e-cigarettes and vaping products. However, licenses are required to sell cigarettes and the cost is only 50 dollars and they are registered with the Treasury Department. And, neither is a special tax required on e-cigarettes a nor related products. Plus, the tax from the cigarette sales enables the state to keep track of tax sales only with a percentage of the cigarette tax going to maintain the age of sale compliance check program with state agents. Additionally, GASP is advocating for licensing of retailers which would enable communities to do their own compliance check of retailers in relation to e-cigarettes, e-liquids and e-gels. Ms. Blumenfeld informed the BOH on August 1, 2016 lboth New Jersey and the Federal government put into legislation that all e-cigarettes related liquids, gels, and waxes need to be in a child proof container. President Harris asked how is the child-proofing going to be regulated. Ms. Blumenfeld responded the federal legislation pg. 9 City of East Orange EAST ORANGE BOARD OF HEALTH REGULAR MEETING NEW JERSEY East Orange Department of Health & Human Services 143 New Street East Orange, New Jersey 07017 NOVEMBER 22, 2016 MEETING MINUTES deals with how the e-cigarette products are packaged and how child-proofing is necessary due to the overwhelming calls to Poison Control Centers. Furthermore, the New Jersey legislation mirrors what GASP advocated for to be included in the state bill and was granted. The other issue is getting the word out to retailers especially since many are not licensed by New Jersey versus cigarette retailers whom the Treasury Department can get the word out because they are tracked through licensing. Ms. Blumenfeld stated that GASP is advocating for local communities to license e-cigarette retailers through the health departments thus being able to track who is selling e-cigarettes and related-products. The funding from the licensing will help municipalities do their own compliance checks, community education and tracking. Additionally, she commented how there needs to be more education regarding e- cigarettes to prevent initiation and the GASP website has a litany of information for communities to use. She cited an example of an ingredient in the e-cigarettes called diacetyl which causes lung cancers, it is known as the culprit in the popcorn lung cancer because workers at a popcorn factory were breathing this chemical and contracted lung cancer, however, but it is permitted by the FDA to put in e-cigarettes. Ms. Blumenfeld stated in the 15 communities that did the licensing, including, Belleville, West Orange and Paramus the licenses ranged from $250.00 to $1200.00 per store and the funding goes back to the communities plus retailers have not been complaining about the licensing fees. President Harris proposed an ordinance be established regarding the legal smoking age in East Orange in January 2017. President Harris thanked Ms. Blumenfeld for coming to the BOH meeting. Updates President Harris asked HO Kuteyi to give updated information on the food handler’s training. He stated he is working on the initiative with Mr. Besra and trying to do determine how the Health Department can begin the ordinance. He added they are trying to determine the logistics of training all East Orange food service workers and provide them with a food handler’s card and certification. HO Kuteyi stated he obtained a list of all food retailers and once the ordinance is passed he stated he will begin training. President Harris stated the ordinance needs to be presented to the BOH. HO Kuteyi stated he will present the ordinance at the January 2017 meeting. President Harris inquired about the Health Department working with Property Maintenance on the abatement issue. HO Kuteyi stated that they are working with Property Maintenance but there was staffing issues. President Harris asked HO Kuteyi what program he is using for the database to keep track of projects and task that need to take place in the Health Department. HO Kuteyi stated that the database is being created internally using an excel spreadsheet. Board Member Henry recommended Microsoft Access to be used for the health department database. HO Kuteyi pg. 10 City of East Orange EAST ORANGE BOARD OF HEALTH REGULAR MEETING NEW JERSEY East Orange Department of Health & Human Services 143 New Street East Orange, New Jersey 07017 NOVEMBER 22, 2016 MEETING MINUTES stated he is using the MILS software for the health inspection data because it lists all the stores, the number of workers, and what dates they attend training courses. Mr. Henry also recommends the Epi Info software program for project management. President Harris announced the State Health Commissioner announced that funding will be put aside to address the lead issue because only zero levels of lead are acceptable. Also, more emphasis needs to place on older private home lead levels too. Ho Kuteyi addressed this concern by commenting, in the past, East Orange would address high lead levels by going to inspect the home but in single family homes the owner were allowed to do their own abatement and 2-3 family homes had to hire a contractor to do their abatement. President Harris asked if any updating needed to take place to for the Mercantile License. HO Kuteyi stated the Mercantile License includes all retailers but the problem is that many businesses are already on the license, therefore, in order to adopt the license many business will be paying double on the Mercantile License. He added the recommendation that the license be amended to include non-food retail stores too. President Harris asked if this also included tobacco sales. HO Kuteyi stated that the amendment does include tobacco sales. President Harris commented that the Mercantile License regulations need to be updated too. HO Kuteyi stated the goal is to have a revision of the license to be paid by all types of stores and not paying twice. President Harris proposed separated fees because they will be paying additional fees for the tobacco and e-cigarette license. HO Kuteyi commented that he mentioned the Mercantile License because it has never been enforced although it was approved. President Harris suggested the amendments be written into the document before HO Kuteyi begins the enforcement process. President Harris asked HO Kuteyi if he has touched basis with EOGH regarding coordinating some of their services with the city in a collaborative effort. HO Kuteyi stated that he will look into the matter and meet with Mr. Story and the Director of Nursing. Nurse Karen commented that EOGH is working on a needs assessment and she mentioned HO Kuteyi regarding community partnership. HO Kuteyi stated he reached out to Essex County Executive Joe DiVincenzo regarding a regional animal shelter however he has not received any further updates. And, in regards to the rabies clinic which took place in October there were 25 dogs registered and 5 cats. He stated the ACO’s identified two dead dogs outside the animal shelter gate on Midland Avenue and an investigation is taking place. Also, the animal shelter floor is completed except there is paint peeling and chipping which needs continuous maintenance. Nurse LaRussa commented that is probably due to the environment being naturally moist because it was a former swamp. HO Kuteyi stated there is a new Clinic Attendant/Medical Assistant whom will begin working on December 5th, 2016. He commented that the Health Department also is working toward the goal of restructuring the system from walk-in services to appointment only, however, he is in the processing of researching the best practice for implementing the pg. 11 City of East Orange EAST ORANGE BOARD OF HEALTH REGULAR MEETING NEW JERSEY East Orange Department of Health & Human Services 143 New Street East Orange, New Jersey 07017 NOVEMBER 22, 2016 MEETING MINUTES new system. HO Kuteyi commented that he sent Mr. Besra to Brookhaven Nursing home to investigate the situation and he learned the NJ Department of Health had been there to do an investigation and they were in compliance. Additionally, the resident whom had concern about her financial situation can have a large sum of money all at once while in the nursing home which has to be $50.00 or less. President Harris asked if the resident’s relative can periodically review the financial situation. President Harris requested the Mayor’s office be given an updated report regarding the resident at Brookhaven Nursing home. HO Kuteyi also stated that East Orange did not get the grant funding to help with accreditation. President Harris recommended talking to the organization that helps municipalities with accreditation for assistance. Also, HO Kuteyi requested an ordinance for food display throughout the city and an ordinance regarding the presence of live poultry in the city too. He also discussed the implementation of food monitors tracking sheet to be used in the field for resolutions to issues and reporting; all of the staff of the food managers program will be receive Food Management Handler’s Training and all Health Department staff who are not updated will receive CPR training from OEM. President Harris asked about the status of the afterschool nutrition program and why it is under the recreation department. HO Kuteyi stated it is going well and stated when the summer food program was separated it remained with the Recreation Department. Nurse Larisa commented that the changes with the program will include a more family style meal so the children eat with their parents, however, the parents will have to pay a small fee of 1- 2 dollars. Nurse Karen discussed the ACNJ program which does statistic work on children in NJ and gave wonderful ideas on programs that are beneficial for the children in East Orange. HO Kuteyi stated that he is working to gather data of 2016 Health Department initiatives to give to the BOH. Board Member Henry suggested the report for the BOH be given in March 2017. President Harris thanked HO Kuteyi for his updated report. Adjournment Board President Harris requested a motion to adjourn the meeting. Motion made by board member Horace Henry and seconded by Board President Harris. Meeting was adjourned at 8:00 pm. Submitted by, Sala S. Small Recording Clerk pg. 12