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 October 19, 2021 MEETING MINUTES Meeting Call to Order – 5:30 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. Zoom Communication ID: 995 4057 8143 Meeting Link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/99540578143?pwd=aHE5TlFiZmYwRlp0TzZpbFhkeFpFdz09 After the roll call, it was determined there was a quorum to convene the meeting. Board Members Present: Christine Harris, President Horace H. Henry, Vice President Tobbia M. Corbitt – excused absence Deanna Phillips Angela Jones-Williams – excused absence Dr. Tonya X. Cook Council Liaison: Leneus Bergson - absent Board of Health Counsel: Attorney Farah Abuobead Health Department Staff: Dr. Griffith, HHS Director Victor Kuteyi, Health Officer Mayoral Staff: None Public in attendance: None Approval of September 21, 2021, Meeting Minutes: Approved Unanimously 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 October 19, 2021 MEETING MINUTES Announcements President Harris: 1. The League of Municipalities Conference will be held on November 16th to the 18th in Atlantic City. The convention will take place in-person this year with strict safety codes in place. President Harris will speak on November 17, 2021, following Commissioner Persichilli’s presentation on the State of Health of NJ. 2. There is a new NJ Health Department public health initiative created from Sustainable Jersey. The work was done by major stakeholders over an approximately two-year period, to create a method by which a Gold Star in Health can be attained. It aims to address all critical issues in your community that would improve the life and overall health of your constituents. It is a very in-depth process and more information is available on the Sustainable Jersey website at www.sustainablejersey.com or you can go to the New Jersey Local Board of Health Association website at https://njlbha.org/. Once you access the website, you will be provided a link on the various steps required to achieve the Gold Star. 3. Important upcoming Zoom Conferences: November 2nd, by the Health Commissioner of New York, titled “Operationalizing Health Equity During a Crisis.” Dr. Griffith Updates: HIV Program We are applying for additional funding to supplement our HIV program. We are working with East Orange General and individuals within the hospital are evaluating whether we can enhance the types of services that are provided to the community. The HIV program mostly operates internally via our main building, but the enhancements may allow us to identify various locales to offer HIV screening and testing. We're exploring different populations that we might not typically have access to because our focus has either been those that come into the department or outside agencies that either have the higher risk populations that we support Vaccination Efforts Due to the severity of COVID it has turned into somewhat of a separate program and its unexpected longevity needs support longer term. We are putting together a COVID Response and Recovery Team (CR&RT) to support that effort and reduces some of the burden on existing personnel. The new CR&RT will be comprised of new staff, starting within the next few weeks, and will help stabilize some of what is occurring in the department. The team will assist with the COVID response and manage other aspects of COVID that have impacted the community such as the moratorium on evictions being lifted and other financial, social, and even behavioral repercussions 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 October 19, 2021 MEETING MINUTES President Harris asked if there has been any indication of individuals coming from the southern border illegally into East Orange. It is her understanding that young people are being flown into New York, New Jersey and other major cities across the US, without being tested or identifying their vaccination status. Dr. Griffith stated she is not aware of any individuals being transported under these conditions and would not be notified unless there was a larger evaluation or assessment that warranted the involvement of the health department. Community Partners Dr. Griffith shared the Health Department is partnering with LaCasa and NJCRI to provide additional support to all residents of East Orange. Both entities will be assisting us by providing incentives and other forms of outreach support to get the word out. Recreational Marijuana Updates President Harris asked had there been any conversations regarding the recreational marijuana ordinance. Dr. Griffith stated there have been no additional conversations regarding this since the last meeting. HO Kuteyi Updates: Community Needs Assessment President Harris asked if the Community Needs Assessment has been completed and should it be done every three or five years. HO Kuteyi remarked the CNA should be completed every three years and he will review the last assessment. The assessment was scheduled under former Director, Michael Hodges; however, the process was interrupted by COVID. Dr. Griffith shared, Michael Hodges transitioned much of the information that was collected during his tenure but at the time, it was decided not to move forward independently because there were two entities looking to do the same. The first entity is the Health Care Foundation of the Oranges (HCFO) were working on and still are looking to pull East Orange, Irvington, and possibly, Orange together to do community health needs assessment. The goal would be for the three municipalities to work together. HCFO would also provide the financial support to perform the assessment because they know that Newark has resources to accomplish their own. The County was the second entity looking to spearhead the same efforts. To Victors point, the immergence of COVID shifted our focus, but those two agencies still have it on the table; they just haven't moved forward with it yet. President Harris asked if there is any idea when the County will begin this process again. President Harris remarked the new essential health services was revised in 2020 and while the newer version has some similarities, it is a lot different than its previous version. President Harris asked if we would be utilizing the same entities to complete the assessment or will we process it internally. Dr. Griffith stated it really depends on what issues the health 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 October 19, 2021 MEETING MINUTES needs assessment is tying into some of the other efforts. When looking at the COVID response and recovery we need a better understanding of what the general needs are within the community and how we can address it. Multiple entities are gathering that data as part of some of the funding that already exists in responding and recovering from COVID and then taking that information to populate the assessment. Currently, there haven't been any concrete dates when the assessment will resume because there's so many changes occurring with the vaccines. President Harris expressed understanding and stated we must continue the great effort to get people vaccinated who want to get vaccinated; however, COVID can’t be our only focus. President Harris mentioned we still have not achieved public health accreditation either which could be done in conjunction with the health needs assessment. Dr. Griffith stated she believes the public health accreditation is important; however, it is a low-priority item when looking at the health needs assessment. If it's done and managed by other agencies, we're coming together along with multiple municipalities they would be able to focus on that. While we do understand the importance and work towards managing all the public health needs, we must evaluate the best way to manage and maintain our General Services in addition to adding support for the vaccination efforts for the larger community. The lack of vaccinations or the rate of COVID still significantly impacts us as a larger community. The accreditation hasn't fallen off the radar, but it isn't as high on the list of things that we're able to do as it once was. Once we bolster capacity then we'll be able to revisit that. President Harris stated last month Victor gave us a very extensive report on the vaccination levels here in East Orange by age, area code, etc., and subsequently sent us the actual report which is impressive in terms of what you were able to accomplish. Booster Vaccinations President Harris asked if the Health Department will also administer Moderna booster vaccinations? Dr. Griffith stated we are waiting for the final decision and operation in a manner that's consistent with the State and County roll outs. We are also poised to continue to offer first doses to residents as well while partnering with the county and any other providers, to continue efforts where they are needed. There is the possibility of receiving another rush of individuals wanting to receive Pfizer, also taking into consideration the fact that Pfizer may receive approval where the emergency Use Authorization (EUA) will include children ages 5 to 11. This approval will broaden the spectrum of ages permitted to receive the vaccine. East Orange General Hospital President Harris asked for the status on hearings regarding East Orange General and its potential sale. Dr. Griffith stated there was a public forum where the individual said to be the owner or close to becoming the owner was communicating with the residents. Unfortunately, the larger portion of the meeting wasn't recorded making it difficult for our general community to revisit. Dr. Griffith mentioned that despite any transition the primary resources 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 October 19, 2021 MEETING MINUTES are expected to stay the same. There may be slight changes such as the name of the hospital. They are looking to enhance services at the hospital including providing an inpatient detox unit for substance abuse, working to explore the enhancement of the behavioral health supports, and transitioning the east pavilion. Dr. Griffith stated she does not have any additional information regarding the actual status of the hospital. President Harris asked if Dr. Griffith or any designee from the health department was a part of those discussions in terms of services. Dr. Griffith stated the Health Department was not asked to collaborate with the hospital for community services. President Harris remarked there should be conversations occurring regarding the transition between the hospital and the Health Department, as they both provide health-related services to the community. Vaccination Efforts HO Kuteyi shared several locations throughout East Orange and Orange where vaccination clinics were held. Those include Central Avenue and Old Sanford St., McDonald’s in Orange and today we were at the McDonald's in East Orange. There has been a slowdown period but anticipate an increase in numbers once the boosters are approved. HO Kuteyi shared his belief that the Pfizer vaccine has been approved, with Moderna and J&J following suit. We are also in the process of training ourselves to utilize the new State booster vaccination implementation system which accompanies the NJIIS. Retail Food Inspections There have been ten retail food inspections done so far this week. Nine of the ten were satisfactory, with one being conditional. The conditional inspections are being followed-up on for compliance. As usual, if they continue to remain non-compliant, we will issue them summonses. We are receiving an increase in calls for bedbugs. We have been working alongside the extermination contractors employed by the buildings to ensure those cases are treated. We held a quality-of-life inspection at a group home, and we would like to implement a joint plan with the Code Enforcement, Zoning, and Public Safety supervisors to hold continued quality- of-life inspections at all the group homes. This will allow us to keep better communication with the managers of these facilities and better advocate for their residents. WIC Updates: President Harris asked about the status of the WIC program. Ms. Blue stated the program is going very well and has continued to grow and recently received additional caseload numbers. We are working on prepping the staff for transitioning to the EWIC debit card for clients. President Harris asked if that process is going smoothly. Chesney stated we're at the very beginning right now. The State is piloting two programs one in Trenton and one in Middlesex County. This will allow them to work out any kinks and obtain a better 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 October 19, 2021 MEETING MINUTES understanding of how the process works. Today we began educating our clients about EWIC, providing them with inserts, and talking to them over the phone. President Harris asked for an update regarding WIC’s relocation. Chesney stated there has not been any news regarding the relocation. Open Discussion: President Harris asked for an update regarding the sewage backup near Trustee Corbitt’s residence. HO Kuteyi shared the work was completed within the same week we had the last BOH meeting. They had to dig 30 feet into the ground because they continued to find damage as they went further down. The owner of the building decided to have all the broken pipes fixed immediately in lieu of having to come back a second time. President Harris asked for an update regarding Trustee Jones-Williams’s neighborhood. HO Kuteyi stated he visited the area yesterday and witnessed garbage at the back of the building. HO Kuteyi is working with DPW to determine whether it is someone from the neighborhood illegally dumping or the result of young kids partying as reported. HO Kuteyi plans to follow- up with Mr. Muzammil of DPW to resolve the issue. President Harris asked if there has been any follow-up regarding the bodega’s noncompliance regarding mask-wearing and COVID protocols. HO Kuteyi stated he visited the bodega to have a conversation with the owner. HO Kuteyi shared he was very apologetic and agreed to make sure his staff remained in compliance. HO Kuteyi stated he will continue to visit them and remarked about the long wait for court appearances due to COVID has made businesses less fearful of repercussions. President Harris asked if everyone had an opportunity to review the previously discussed ordinances regarding the barbershop, nail salons, e-cig, etc. HO Kuteyi shared he did review the material and wanted to begin moving towards focusing on the pertinent ordinances. HO Kuteyi shared he has already seen two new hookah parlors in East Orange. HO Kuteyi explained if there is no ordinance that directly addresses the hookah parlors, the businesses can circumvent the Health Department by going to Planning to request permit. We need to address the ordinance again with the Health and Education Committee and Legal to provide them with an opportunity to review the documents. President Harris explained the cigarette ordinance would have been a great way for the Health Department to generate revenue. Dr. Griffith explained there are no pending items per say with legal for the E cigarette ordinance. The feedback that we received from Legal prior to Farah coming on was that it should somehow be incorporated into the mercantile license. They weren't in favor of developing additional ordinances that would call for separate fees. In terms of a stalling point, the issue would be how would any of these new fees be integrated into the mercantile license and how would then the mercantile license be rolled out and enforced. For the mercantile license, if the language is there, we would then have to make pg. 6 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 October 19, 2021 MEETING MINUTES sure that all businesses are notified properly and informed of any fees that they would need to pay. We must evaluate the process to determine how to incorporate the language of the mercantile license and where we can concentrate on the public health aspects of the ordinances. Legal is stating there's a mercantile license that was created years ago for that purpose so if there is a shift and we're looking to change it we would have to be very explicit as to what the changes would be. In addition to that if we're looking to then add something separate be able to articulate how these new fees would be different than the mercantile license. President Harris asked if we should revisit the ordinances with Farrah. Dr. Griffith stated she and Victor will pull the documentation as of our last communications with legal and provide it to Farrah. Farah should then be able to evaluate the ordinances further. President Harris remarked on the importance of revisiting the ordinance as it relates to the income it generates and how that can be distributed to health-related endeavors. Vice-president Henry stated that he sees things from both points of view. While the ordinance can be fee generating, the powers that be are looking at the implications of double charging business via the two ordinances. We should allow Legal to review the ordinances and let us know the outcome. President Harris stated that she agrees with all points, but it will be interesting to see how these interconnects with the planning behind the marijuana ordinance. President Harris asked if members had an opportunity to review the report HO Kuteyi submitted to the Board. The board members did not have a chance to review the material so it will be discussed in the next meeting. At the conclusion of Board business, President Harris adjourned the meeting at 6:30 pm. Respectfully submitted, Jo-Ann Mills Board Clerk pg. 7