Board of Health

City of East Orange EAST ORANGE BOARD OF HEALTH NEW JERSEY REGULAR MEETING East Orange Department of Health & Human Services 143 New Street East Orange, New Jersey 07017 September 19, 2017 MEETING MINUTES Meeting Call to Order – 5:50 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 (arrived 6:00 pm) Sandra Osborne Ryan Linder, Attorney assigned to the Board of Health (Absent) Health Department Staff LaDonna Johns, Director Health and Human Services (Absent) Victor Kuteyi, Health Officer Karen Johnson-LaRussa, Nurse, Certified Health Educator Chesney Blue, Director WIC (Women, Infants and Children), (Absent) Guest Speakers: None Public in attendance: None Approval of July 18, 2017 Meeting Minutes: Approval unanimous President Harris President Harris signed the three ordinances which were approved at the May 17, 2017 meeting: • An Ordinance Amending Chapter 294, Section 2 of The Revised General Ordinances of The City of East Orange. “To prohibit the sale of tobacco and nicotine delivery products to persons under the age of 21” • An Ordinance to Amend and Supplement Chapter § 238-67 of the East Orange City Code - Prohibiting the display of food and beverages on sidewalks and on the street. • An Ordinance to Amend Chapter 132 of the Code of the City of East Orange, Article VII Vicious and Potentially Dangerous Dogs President Harris announced BOH Members (Corbitt, Osborn, Harris) accompanied by Health Department staff (Nurse LaRussa, HO Kuteyi, & interns) visited Park Elementary School Medical Facility Monday July 24th. Efforts will be made by the BOH to coordinate meeting dates with the School Superintendent and School Board to discuss next steps in establishing health services. Board member Corbitt read and submitted a summation on the visits to Tyson & Park Schools’ medical facilities. The report highlighted the need for the medical facility, and suggested actions for implementation to bring the facility to fruition. Nurse LaRussa-Johnson discussed community partnerships and collaborations with medical facilities, at East Orange General Hospital and East Orange Primary Care Center. pg. 1 City of East Orange EAST ORANGE BOARD OF HEALTH NEW JERSEY REGULAR MEETING East Orange Department of Health & Human Services 143 New Street East Orange, New Jersey 07017 September 19, 2017 MEETING MINUTES President Harris announced that on July 29th, she attended legislative hearing in Trenton to establish EO Veterans Administration Hospital as a National Historic landmark. President Harris announced that Mental Health and Opioid Addiction Services are returning to the NJ Department of Health and Human Services and that county wide meetings will be held throughout the state. She added the District Meeting for Essex County will be held at the National Guard Armory in West Orange on September 29th, 2017 from 5pm-7pm to discuss how these services can be integrated in a seamless transition. President Harris announced she will be speaking at the League of Municipalities on November 15, 2017. President Harris announced that at the State Board of Health meeting, Karen Blumenfeld, from GASP stated that Municipalities who enact Ordinances which raise the age of selling tobacco to 21 can impose annual fines on “anyone who sells electronic cigarettes, gels, vapors, powders, …on any establishment, at any location, even if it is a chain store.” President Harris added that Ms. Blumenfeld would like to speak to students about tobacco usage because many students are aware of the dangers of secondhand smoke. Nurse LaRussa is going to reach out to Karen to speak to students. Mr. Kuteyi, Health Officer Update on Vermin Task Force: Health Officer Kuteyi provided an update on the Vermin Task Force. He reported meeting with Mark Barner, Department of Property Maintenance along with the task force for a second meeting on June 6, 2017. The Health Department is working in concert with Property Maintenance and DPW; twenty referrals for rodent control were received of which ten were for abatement; Property Maintenance and DPW assisted. He cited that the ten properties ranged from vacant/abandon properties, garbage, and over grown grass. On the properties that had overgrown grass and/or weeds, Property Maintenance cut the grass then informed the Health Department to continue the abatement process. President Harris asked HO Kuteyi if the Vermin Task Force enacted the agreed upon protocol. HO Kuteyi reported the protocol has not been officially adopted, although all departments involved are actively participating, however, DPW, Property Maintenance, and the Health Department work together to prepare and abate cites. Property Maintenance and DPW roles are support services to prepare sites. He added the role of the Health Department is to abate the site because they are the only department that has the pesticide license. HO Kuteyi reported the task force will discuss in future meetings Integrated Pest Management Approaches(IPMA), however, cost is a factor and they are using what is currently available. Mr. Henry expressed there needs to be a greater push for the use of the IPMA to combat the vermin problem in the City. Mr. Henry added the building construction phase is very important to IPMA. He reiterated the need for the push of the implementation IPMA, the importance of all task force member contributions, the use of all available resources, all departments on the task force equally contributing. HO Kuteyi reiterated there is a combined departmental effort. President Harris expressed concern over cohesiveness of the task force. HO Kuteyi reassured President Harris that the task force is cohesive. President Harris asked HO Kuteyi if a tracking method was in place. He stated that a formal tracking method is currently not in place but they are working to implement the GOV PILOT tracking software which will make communication and tracking easier for all departments involved on the task force and the Health Department. Mrs. Corbitt asked about the date of implementation of the GOV PILOT software. HO Kuteyi stated that he will be meeting with the CEO of GOV PILOT to discuss matters regarding the software and full implementation by 2018. He added GOV PILOT will enable faster communication and service for the departments involved with task force and they are working with the technician to limit access for DPW and Property Maintenance regarding personal health matters. Ms. Osborne suggested that HO Kuteyi have fields blocked that contain personal health information. Update on State required HD compliance: Health Officer Kuteyi provided the Board an update on State required HD compliance. pg. 2 City of East Orange EAST ORANGE BOARD OF HEALTH NEW JERSEY REGULAR MEETING East Orange Department of Health & Human Services 143 New Street East Orange, New Jersey 07017 September 19, 2017 MEETING MINUTES Training- • BOH members must continue to attend individual and/or collaborative trainings throughout the year. • HO Kuteyi provided to the State that BOH members attended an informational session with a representative from GASP on tobacco. • HO Kuteyi also provided to the State BOH members and Health Department staff attending a tour of the medical facilities at Tyson & Park West Elementary schools. Quality Improvement Process- • HO Kuteyi reported that he circulated a quality improvement plan to all the managers in the Health Department with goals and objectives to be used within their department or division. Health Educator- • HO Kuteyi reported the State requested the Health Department have a staff member who is certified with the Community Health Education Specialist (CHES) certification to work per diem. He stated to the Board that Ms. Mcrae, East Orange Fire Department employee and Public Health graduate, will be taking the CHES examination in April 2018. Cultural Diversity- • HO Kuteyi reported that the State requires cultural diversity training for the staff annually • HO Kuteyi added that he has proposed two options for training which are online and/or a speaker provided by the Essex Regional epidemiologist to provide a speaker to facilitate a few trainings. Community Health Planning and Partnerships- • HO Kuteyi reported the State cited the Health Department for having infrequent community partnership meetings and no documentation of meetings which occurred. • HO Kuteyi reported that he found documentation of meetings that former Director Evans had with FQHC in 2015. • HO Kuteyi added that he documented current meetings with a community advisory group which set-up a meeting with Prospect East Orange General Hospital and PULSE EMS ambulance service. He reported the purpose of the meeting was to discuss the mandate that Pulse has with Prospect EOGH. • HO Kuteyi added he covered the lead inspections in Irvington during the month of July because the lead inspector left. • He added he provided lectures during the month of January to Fresh Start Academy located in East Orange on the topic of health education and lead poisoning to staff members. • HO Kuteyi stated that going forward all meetings will be summarized, documented and kept on file at the health department. • Nurse LaRussa inquired if the record of community partnerships is relegated only to administrators at the Health Department. HO Kuteyi recommended Nurse LaRussa provide a summary form of the meetings she attends to keep on file at the Health Department. She added that Director Johns recommended she also submit with the monthly report the meeting agendas and notes taken at the various meetings. • HO Kuteyi reported the State cited the Health Department for not having a diabetes program and cardiovascular program. He added that he spoke to the Nurse Manager about the programs and the lack of proper documentation of services provided. HO Kuteyi added he met with the Nurse Manager to discuss process, procedures, protocols, set-up a binder for documentation, created an excel spreadsheet to document clients, recommended all adults receive a blood pressure screening, increased diabetes consultation, and increased diabetes testing. Emergency On-call System Testing Training, Emergency Plan Activities, and Drills • HO Kuteyi reported the Health Department was cited for not documenting the emergency on-call testing. He added he contacted Mr. David Williams at the Office of Emergency Management (OEM) who stated that the system was tested on May 17, 2017. He added the State wants the Health Department to increase the number of staff trained for the emergency on-call system. • HO Kuteyi reported a cohort of Health Department staff did the CERT training and drills on September 5, 2017. • Nurse LaRussa stated she is CERT trained. pg. 3 City of East Orange EAST ORANGE BOARD OF HEALTH NEW JERSEY REGULAR MEETING East Orange Department of Health & Human Services 143 New Street East Orange, New Jersey 07017 September 19, 2017 MEETING MINUTES Public Health Annex • HO Kuteyi reported the public health annex was not accepted because it was not signed by the Mayor and the Director of Public Safety on the day of the State visit. He added that he received another document from David Williams and has distributed the document to all the managers in the Health Department for re- submission to the state. Coordination and Integration of Emergency Management Planning Response Activities • HO Kuteyi the State cited the Health Department for not having a record of coordination and integration of emergency management response activities. He added former Director Evans had meetings in 2014, he had attended a meeting on October 7th, 2014 with the Mayor, and OEM will assign roles for emergencies which will include the Health Department will be included. Community Public Health Status Report • HO Kuteyi reported the State cited the Health Department for not having a Community Public Health Status report available to the Public and the Board of Health. He submitted the report to the BOH. Health Department Follow-up • HO Kuteyi reported to the Board that the resident who complained of maltreatment at Brookhaven was transferred to the state of Georgia, near family. • A 92-year-old woman was abandoned. Additionally, she did not have gas or electricity. The police were called in to take her to East Orange General Hospital. The Health Department sought assistance from Senior Services who found help for the women through Care Finders and she was placed in a senior home. • A resident with a history of asthma was moved to Ramada Inn while the residence was undergoing mold abatement. • HO Kuteyi proposed the Mercantile License should include barber shops, hair salons, nail shops, flower shops, and any establishment that has an impact. HO Kuteyi also suggested license cost revisions. Board members commended HO Kuteyi for his diligence and hard work on behalf of the Health Department. Adjournment At the conclusion of Board business, President Harris adjourned the meeting at 7:46 pm. Respectfully submitted, Sala Small Board Clerk pg. 4