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 18, 2018 MEETING MINUTES Meeting Call to Order – 5:40 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 Deanna Phillips Angela Jones- Williams (45 Day Mayoral Appointee) Derrick Samuels-arrived at 6:35pm Board of Health Counsel: Shantika Dorsey, Attorney assigned to the Board of Health Health Department Staff: Michael Hodges, Director of Health & Human Services Victor Kuteyi, Health Officer Karen Johnson-LaRussa, Nurse, Community Health Educator Ms.Osahuemwenmwen Osayande, Student Intern, New Jersey City University, BS in Public Health Jo-Ann Mills, Board Recording Clerk Mayoral Staff: Ajah Baldwin, Office of the Mayors Public in attendance: Gladys Horton of CPaw NJ Karen Shinevar of CPaw NJ Kathy Yates – East Orange Senior Resident (assisting CPaw of NJ) Casim Gomez – Office of Senator Robert Menendez Approval of July 17, 2018 Meeting Minutes: Approval unanimous 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 18, 2018 MEETING MINUTES Announcements President Harris: • President Harris announced our new director of Health & Human Services - Michael Hodges. • President Harris announced our new BOH member - Ms. Angela Jones-Williams. She has been a resident of the city of East Orange for 30 years. She retired 5 years ago from UMDJ as an account manager of 30 employees. She is currently teaching at Horizon Charter School and is an advocate for the White House Nursing Home. Her addition fills our board to its proper capacity of 6 members. • The State Association is in the process of amending the orientation manual for all local boards of health. The orientation manual identifies the diverse types of boards in existence, under which government forum they occur, and what category of BOH is required. This information will optimistically be accessible by January 2019. Feral Cat Issue/CPAW NJ Presentation Guest Speakers from CPAW, NJ were in attendance: Gladys Horton - East Orange Senior Resident (assisting CPAW of NJ) Karen Shinevar - Co-Founder and President of CPAW NJ Kathy Yates – East Orange Senior Resident (assisting CPAW of NJ) • CPAW NJ is based out of Montclair, but they assist municipalities throughout Essex County • They have been operating for approximately a year and a half • They are interested in partnering with East Orange to help alleviate new cat births • Gladys Hornton reached out to CPAW to assist in her N. Munn Ave neighborhood, as they were seeing an influx of feral and outside cats. She stated that CPAW was able to spay and neuter the cats and successfully return them home, which will alleviate new births and decrease the kitten population. She also stated the cat population is needed as a method of rodent control. She is interested in educating residents on cat colonies and teaching them how to trap cats. • President Harris asked if CPAW was prepared to execute an effective plan. She also stated the risks associated with private citizens trapping animals. She reiterated her wish to utilize CPAW’s educational component to educate East Orange residents about cat colonies, which will assist in limiting the feral cat population. • Ms. Shinevar submitted a proposal for execution, but President Harris felt it was lacking the following components: o An ordinance that includes: a detailed plan for shelters, feeding times, community veterinarian, organizations that can provide funding, residents who will commit to long-term feral cat care and colony maintenance. • President Harris stated that the feral cat issue will be placed on the agenda for October’s BOH meeting, so they can have a detailed discussion about CPAW’s proposal • The BOH will be developing a community animal health forum (The 3 C’s Community Cat Care) to address the feral cat issues. 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 18, 2018 MEETING MINUTES Mr. Hodges, Director - Updates: • Director Hodges introduced himself to the board. Mr. Hodges worked in public health for the last 13 years, prior to that he was working in corporate performing various tasks. He worked in Bloomfield for 11 years and recently worked as a Health Officer in West Milford. Under his advisement, Bloomfield became the first town accredited by the State of NJ. He plans to lead the City of East Orange to accreditation. • Director Hodges reported that there was a power outage on Prospect Street, which displaced several citizens, including senior residents. He commended Senior Services staff, bus drivers, and OEM for coming together and caring for our seniors, during the outage. • Meet, Move and Mingle was a success; he commended both Ms. Johns (manager of MOET) & Jo-Ann Mills, for working very hard on this event. • At a recent manager’s meeting, he had each division manager take an assessment of their leadership style. It is utilized to assess the type of leadership style you have: pioneer, guardian, nurturer or connector, which helps managers realize how their staff will relate to them, in positive or negative ways. They also discussed the schedule for performance evaluations. • Mr. Hodges attended a meeting with the Executive Director of the Healthcare Foundation of the Oranges. This foundation was created from some of the monies from the sale of East Orange General Hospital. The Healthcare Foundation of the Oranges has pledges to assist us with funding our community health assessment. Based off the data obtained during the assessment we would get together with our community partners to create a CHIP, or Community Health Improvement Plan. He plans to begin the accreditation process in 2019. President Harris asked if East Orange General will be a part of the health assessment process. Director Hodges stated that he hopes so, but has a meeting with them October 11, and should be able to provide a definitive answer at that time. • There will be a Community Town Hall meeting on September 27, 2018 6:30 pm, at Cicely Tyson School, hosted by Mayor Green. All of the directors will be in attendance discussing their goals and objectives for the future. Lead Program • Mr. Hodges, Mr. Kuteyi, and Ms. Marie Niasse, (Lead Coordinator) - attended a meeting with the State Commissioner of Health Dr. Shereef Elnahal, in reference to the Lead Program. He stated that he was very impressed with the execution of Marie’s Lead Program and stated that it might be a model program for the state. • The Health Department in conjunction with Policy and Planning, is applying for a $2.3 million-dollar HUD lead grant. They have been working diligently with Dan Jennings, Naiima Fauntleroy, Essex County Regional, and health officers from municipalities we provide lead services to. Our lead program assists approximately 300,000 NJ residents. These grants are very scarce, as only 50 grants are dispersed throughout the country, per year. Director Hodges objective is for East Orange to become a recipient of one. Mr. Kuteyi, Health Officer – Updates: 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 18, 2018 MEETING MINUTES Tobacco Ordinance HO Kuteyi reported that we need to add primary care as a component of the community health assessment. He also recognized the BOH and Attorney Dorsey for assisting us with attaining the enactment of the tobacco ordinance. It was passed on September 11, 2018, by city council. Sanitation Issues President Harris asked Mr. Kuteyi if there were any other issues in the city, in terms of compliance, issues with sanitation or cooking (gas stations). He mentioned the gas station concerns had been rectified. He stated he had to shut down 2 tattoo parlors- one tattooed a minor without the parents’ consent and an illegal tattoo parlor, which was operating behind the DMV in a warehouse on Central Avenue and sent court summonses to both parties. Attorney Dorsey Updates: Attorney Dorsey added that in addition to the tobacco ordinance, she believes the barbershop-nail salon ordinance had also been passed. Due to a meeting cancelation being sent in error, she was unable to obtain the legislature in time for the meeting. She announced that this will be her last meeting prior to going on maternity leave, but will apprise us on her proxy once announced. Attorney Dorsey indicated that Attorney Ryan Linder was planning on requesting a response from the Council, in reference to the autonomy issue. The Health and Education committee is also seeking a response from the administration prior to generating their vote. Health Department Staff: Community Health Education Updates Nurse Karen introduced to the Board one of the new Student Interns, Ms.Osahuemwenmwen Osayande. Ms. Osayande gave a brief introduction to the Board and informed them she is an Undergraduate Student Intern from New Jersey City University in the Bachelors of Science Program in Public Health with a concentration in Community Health Education. Nurse Karen stated she has 4 student interns this semester. Healthy Men’s Conference and BBQ- Taking place on Thursday, October 4th at 11:00 am, located at East Orange Senior Center. Director Hodges will be the keynote speaker at this event. Langston Hughes is having a community day, Saturday, October 6th. She will be at Park Avenue Christian Church, Saturday, September 29th. They will be kicking off their HIV/STD educational sessions within East Orange Schools. pg. 4 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 18, 2018 MEETING MINUTES Open Discussion: BOH Autonomy President Harris reiterated to the Board her submission to City Council and the Mayor about the Board’s autonomy status. Board member Mrs. Corbitt asked if there had been any feedback from the Mayor or Council in regard to the BOH request for autonomy. President Harris stated there has been no response, but that she plans on following up next month. Director Hodges expressed his support of autonomy for the BOH, to City Council and its importance. City Council’s response is based on who would be responsible if issues arise, pertaining to health. The residents will look to city council for answers rather than the BOH. He expressed that constant communication between the BOH and Council was the key to alleviating those fears. President Harris suggested that city council attend BOH meetings to assuage their fears and obtain answers to any questions they may have. Bergson Leneus is tasked as the BOH liaison, to present his findings to Council. Legalization of Recreational Marijuana Legislation President Harris divulged the state legislation passage of legalization of marijuana, for medicinal purposes. There is an upcoming additional piece of legislature which expands on the previous bill enacted, allowing recreational marijuana usage. Our legal component is responsible for reviewing the laws and forming a structural approach for recreational marijuana usage. Important keys in those plans are where it will be grown, how it will be distributed, proximity to schools, etc. Casim Gomez shared with us, a possibility of having a marijuana delivery service. He expressed that the BOH has an opportunity to preemptively explore management of that facet of marijuana distribution legislature. If East Orange is on the opposing side of allowing the sale of recreational marijuana, another option would be in the housing of its delivery service. The revenue generated from housing the delivery service would be economically advantageous for the community. Review of RFP for BLS Ambulance Service President Harris asked if the board was able to review the RFP for BLS Ambulance Services. Mr. Linder revised the proposal. Currently, we are utilizing Pulse EMS on a month to month basis, while reviewing the proposals. The BOH is one of the four bodies, in addition to Fire, Police, and OEM, which has input on the specifications and in evaluating submissions. The submission time line for publication is October 14th, 2018, however, that time will need to be modified. Director Hodges asked Attorney Linder to highlight the revised portion of the document, to allow easier perusal. The BOH will come up with a template applying the identical criteria to rate each submitted proposal. President Harris instructed the board members to research EMS services to have a better understanding of the submitted proposal and if any revisions would be required. President Harris presented the BOH with another assignment for next month’s meeting: write what you consider to be the objectives of the board, and how do we communicate to our community, how do we go about classifying and addressing issues. This information will be utilized to create a brochure for the BOH. Board member Corbitt inquired to the BOH’s status of attending city health related functions, as a unit. President Harris responded by explaining she met with Director Hodges to discuss the board’s pg. 5 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 18, 2018 MEETING MINUTES strategies. While the Health Department desires the Board’s presence in the community, it would align the BOH’s function as discovering the health requirements and needs of the community. The BOH is responsible for taking into consideration the health issues and support legislation of the appropriate action. Upon the completion of the meeting, it was mutually decided, the Department of Health should be the face for all health associated events. Mr. Hodges stated that residents should be aware of the board’s existence, know how the board operates, and know they are welcome to attend the BOH meetings. In other municipalities boards act as a separate entity rather than working with the health department, which confuses the residents. Mr. Hodges is interested in the BOH and Health Department performing in conjunction to create a brand. At the conclusion of Board business, President Harris adjourned the meeting at 7:07 pm. Respectfully submitted, Jo-Ann Mills Board Clerk pg. 6