Board of Health

EAST ORANGE BOARD OF HEALTH City of East Orange REGULAR MEETING East Orange Department of Health & Human Services NEW JERSEY 143 New Street East Orange, New Jersey 07017 November 21, 2023 MEETING MINUTES Meeting Call to Order – 5:42 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: 872 8284 8096 Meeting Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87282848096?pwd=TlJ5SGNzUEV3cGFqTGxyUk0yTjVvdz09 After the roll call, it was determined there was a quorum to convene the meeting. Board Members Present: Christine Harris, President Tobbia M. Corbitt, Vice-President Deanna Phillips Angela Jones-Williams Dr. Tonya X. Cook Council Liaison: Mustafa Al-M. Brent - absent Board of Health Counsel: Attorney Emeka Madubuogo - absent Health Department Staff: Horace Henry, Acting HHS Director Health Officer Vincent DeFilippo, Orange Mayoral Staff: Jada Braime-Butler Guests: None pg. 1  EAST ORANGE BOARD OF HEALTH City of East Orange REGULAR MEETING East Orange Department of Health & Human Services NEW JERSEY 143 New Street East Orange, New Jersey 07017 November 21, 2023 Public in attendance: None Approval of October 17, 2023, Meeting Minutes: Approved Unanimously President Harris Announcements: President Harris congratulated Mr. Henry on his appointment as the Acting Director of the Health Department. Board members shared President Harris' sentiments. President Harris shared that VP Corbitt, Trustee Jones-Williams and she attended the League of Municipalities Conference. President Harris shared that she had an opportunity to speak with the new NJ DOH Commissioner Dr. Kaitlan Baston. The Commissioners State of the Health of NJ presentation was an excellent overview of the current and future happenings in the health department. Director Henry Updates: Director Henry expressed his thanks and appreciation to everyone for the opportunity and their support as he assumes his new position. FileBank, WinWam, and Permitium Director Henry shared that FileBank plans to provide onsite training to HD staff and the initial equipment setup. Dir. Henry stated he needs to follow up on the status of WinWam and Permitium. President Harris shared that she heard there was some resolution to the FileBank matter and that they would continue their service. Mrs. Blake, former HD interim Director, stated she did not have additional information regarding FileBank and directed the Board to speak with Mr. Steplight and Ms. Gallagher. Dir. Blake explained that recently, the City Council passed and rescinded the resolution. Pres. Harris shared her understanding, per Ms. Gallagher, that the City would be willing to put forth the $100+ thousand necessary to initiate File Bank's contract, and that the City would be reimbursed within 30 to 60 days, once reports and documentation had been submitted to NJACCHO. Vehicles Director Henry shared that the HD moved with our resolution and documents for a new vehicle. We initially requested three vehicles but were only allowed to negotiate for one. The resolution is with the CFO, and we await her funds certification to present the documents before the City Council. Pres. Harris asked if they still needed a second vehicle. Dir. Henry stated they do. pg. 2  EAST ORANGE BOARD OF HEALTH City of East Orange REGULAR MEETING East Orange Department of Health & Human Services NEW JERSEY 143 New Street East Orange, New Jersey 07017 November 21, 2023 Technological Updates Director Henry shared that the IT department has been working diligently to repair the issues with the phone and system outages affecting the Lead Hazard and WIC programs. The Administration is dealing with how to mitigate the phone and electrical systems. Dir. Henry stated that Mr. Salaam was out of the office but that he would verify the status of the electrical system at the LHCHH office upon his return. Dir. Henry stated he would also begin addressing the less critical tech issues affecting the HD staff at 143 New Street. Dr. Cook asked if Dir. Henry would manage the current and future inventory for technology given to the HD. Dir. Henry stated that he would create an electronic inventory based on the current technology within the department, which would detail the equipment type, numbers associated with the equipment, where applicable, and to whom the equipment is assigned. The inventory would be updated to include future assigned technology. President Harris added that Dr. Cook's question also related to the large number of cell phones and laptops scheduled to be ordered. Dir. Henry shared that he does not believe the equipment was ordered and will assess who truly needs the equipment based on their roles and responsibilities. President Harris asked whether the equipment would be issued via the Municipal Budget or NJACCHO Grant funds. Dir. Henry stated if the Municipal budget cannot cover the expenses, the grant funding may cover them when applicable. Dir. Henry stated that the goal is to ensure the department gets the needed updates while being mindful of excess expenditure. Health Department Budget VP Corbitt asked if Dir. Henry had an opportunity to review the HD budget in this entirety and the line items of municipal funds and grant funds. Dir. Henry stated he has yet to have an opportunity to review the entire budget but has received some information from Ms. Tameka Chandler regarding the grants, such as the grant names, award dates, and ending dates. Dir. Henry shared his plans to develop a comprehensive list of everything pertaining to our grants so we can remain diligent in keeping track of the grant requirements. Dir. Henry stated Ms. Chandler is responsible for the majority of the department's grants and shared plans to bring on additional staff to provide her support. VP Corbitt asked for clarity regarding the lack of funds in the Board's budget line per Ms. Gallagher and how that would affect their reimbursements for participation at the League of Municipalities. Dir. Henry stated he was not privy to such and would have to follow up to provide an answer. Dir. Henry stated that the budget is based on a calendar year and would share additional details with the Board once received. Accounting Staff pg. 3  EAST ORANGE BOARD OF HEALTH City of East Orange REGULAR MEETING East Orange Department of Health & Human Services NEW JERSEY 143 New Street East Orange, New Jersey 07017 November 21, 2023 Director Henry shared that he met with the two staff members responsible for managing the department's accounting. The meeting was held to clarify some issues discussed in previous BOH meetings. During the meeting, Dir. Henry was briefed on the numerous vendors that provide services for the department, how they have divided the accounts by the divisions, and their overall processes. Dir. Henry surmised that they are all on the same page regarding how to move forward and prevent some of the issues from occurring again. President Harris remarked Dir. Henry seems to be making contact to establish payments to address the outstanding items. Dir. Henry shared he has and will continue to submit outstanding items to the accounting team to ensure they are paid, including the Board's League of Municipalities expenses. Organizational Chart Director Henry stated that he is in the process of redoing the organizational chart. So he is hoping to share it with the Board once completed. Mayor's Wellness Program President Harris shared a conversation with VP Corbitt regarding the Mayor's Wellness Program. VP Corbitt thought East Orange was under the Mayor's Wellness program but discovered that we are not. Our Mayor would have to complete documentation to enroll in the program. Pres. Harris asked if Dir. Henry of HO DeFillipo had spoken to the Mayor regarding this. Dir. Henry and HO DeFillipo stated they had not. Pres. Harris remarked that we have numerous programs in place; however, we are officially not receiving any funding for our participation or compliance. VP Corbitt shared her plans to attend a seminar on the Mayor's Wellness Program on December 5th. Pres. Harris stated that we will speak about this during the next BOH meeting. HIV PrEP Program Director Henry stated the HIV PrEP Program will have their federal inspection on November 29th. They are deficient in some areas, but thanks to DPW, they have been given tremendous support to deal with the structural issues. Even today, DPW installed multiple locks so that we are compliant with the Federal laws. There are also plans to install an air conditioning unit in their area, as items must be kept at a cool temperature. Dir. Henry shared that the PrEP staff is operating in the old dental clinic and hopes they will pass their inspection with the recent improvements. Dir. Henry shared that Dir. Henry thanked the DPW team for their continued support in managing the structural issues in the department. PPE Dir. Henry shared that they picked up some free PPE supplies that the County offered, such as Lysol, Wipes, COVID-19 test kits, etc. Dir. Henry thanked Vinny for assisting in that endeavor. pg. 4  EAST ORANGE BOARD OF HEALTH City of East Orange REGULAR MEETING East Orange Department of Health & Human Services NEW JERSEY 143 New Street East Orange, New Jersey 07017 November 21, 2023 Plans for Office Improvements Dir. Henry shared plans to refurbish the Accounting office, such as new flooring, paint, lighting, and addressing leakage. DPW will temporarily relocate furnishings and staff during the renovation process. LHCHH Program Director Henry shared that Mr. Salaam has been closing out previous grants and negotiating for others. Mr. Salaam still has money that he is required to spend. He is also hiring a clerk for his office and is waiting for updates from HR regarding when the new hire can be onboarded. President Harris asked if Mr. Salaam needed additional staff to help him meet his goals. Dir. Henry stated he will need additional staff and is in the process of interviews for his program. WIC Updates Dir. Henry stated that Ms. Blue was in the process of interviewing two nutritionists. Dir. Henry shared that the salaries for the nutritionist position with WIC are not competitive with those in the private sector. Dir. Henry stated he is still determining how to improve that, possibly supplementing the salary with grant funding if allowed. But with what we offer, you must have people who want to work with the municipal or government system to attract them. But we are hopeful that we'll be able to get the required number of nutritionists. President Harris commented that our WIC program has a longstanding excellent history known throughout the State, and we certainly don't want to do anything to jeopardize that standing. Pres. Harris acknowledged that nutritionists make a lot of money. Still, everyone's salaries are increasing, and for us to get qualified people, and you say we have to be competitive, there's no choice but to implement a salary increase for the position. Performance Evaluations Director Henry stated that he was not privy to the information regarding the staff evaluations and improvement plans but intends to work on them and provide updates later. Staff Meetings Director Henry shared that the department had their first staff meeting for the New Street location this past Friday. The feedback received was worthwhile. Dir. Henry has proposed holding staff meetings by division, which would be recurring monthly on a day of the week they select. Dir. Henry stated he encouraged the staff to create monthly/quarterly plans based on the execution of their responsibilities. These plans will ensure we are executing appropriately and have the means to show the Administration and Board where we are. Dir. Henry extended an invitation to the Board to attend staff meetings. Finance Dir. Henry shared that Tanisha Love and Denise Ellison have been training him on the approval pg. 5  EAST ORANGE BOARD OF HEALTH City of East Orange REGULAR MEETING East Orange Department of Health & Human Services NEW JERSEY 143 New Street East Orange, New Jersey 07017 November 21, 2023 process, such as when requisitions are entered into the Edmunds System; a system where all requisitions and purchase orders are created, approved, and managed. The Finance Department has also agreed to provide additional training for Edmunds. Grant Disbursement Workshop Director Henry shared that the Administration held a grant disbursement workshop last Friday. The workshop aimed to give all City directors an overview of the disbursement workflow process. Dir. Henry stated he believes this workshop was in response to some of the comments the Board and other departments have shared with the Administration. President Harris asked if the Board would receive a clear understanding of the entire process from when it's initiated until the time it is completed, when resolutions are necessary, and under what conditions. Dir. Henry stated Procurement advised they are drafting the process to be shared. Dir. Henry thanked Ms. Braime-Butler for relaying their concerns to the Administration on the Board's behalf. Health Officer DeFillipo Updates: HO DeFillipo Dir. Henry shared that HO DeFillipo has tendered his resignation but has offered to make himself available, when needed. Dir. Henry shared that HO DeFillipo is actively trying to identify a potential candidate with copious experience. President Harris thanked HO DeFillipo for everything he has done covering us as the health officer during this time, and we look forward to him continuing to do so until we fill the position. HO DeFillipo explained that his contract was up between six and nine months ago, but based on the shared efforts, the State may want to renew the contract. If the State submits a new contract, then it would need to be approved by both cities before he can continue in the dual HO role. Grant Funds HO DeFillippo shared that they are in the process of submitting the required paperwork for the grant reimbursement. They have submitted paperwork for the Nursing Division and Vital Statistics' renovations and will continue this process until the funding has been spent. HO DeFillipo shared that air conditioners and purifiers will be ordered so they can be replaced for the entire department. Adding the air conditioners and purifiers will address some of the air quality issues for staff. HO DeFillipo stated that the department needs to spend $200,000 per month to comply with the grant stipulations. Dir. Henry stated he intends to hire a seasoned REHS with a dual- certified nutritionist role. pg. 6  EAST ORANGE BOARD OF HEALTH City of East Orange REGULAR MEETING East Orange Department of Health & Human Services NEW JERSEY 143 New Street East Orange, New Jersey 07017 November 21, 2023 Nurse Karen Updates: Mammogram Screening Director Henry spoke with the nursing team to determine what programs were discontinued that they would like to see returned. One of the nurses shared that she would like to see the mammogram screening program return. Dir. Henry met with an individual who manages a mammogram screening program and was advised that East Orange is the only municipality that has yet to participate. Dir. Henry shared their contact info with Nurse Karen, who spearheaded that connection. Nurse Karen concurred, stating the mammogram program is something that we've been trying to chase down ever since COVID-19 slowed down. Over the past two years, we were told the van was not running yet. So, through this transition and the young lady Mr. Horace talked to, we discovered they've revamped the program. They now call it Mammogram in Motion, and the criteria are different. It's a program that all of us in the community are looking forward to happening, which is that you will accept uninsured, insured and employees. So, it's something that, administratively, we have to sit down and talk about. They sent a contract. We have to review it together to work out some of the details, including the fact that we don't have our conference rooms right now. So, we have to think of alternate sites to host the screening to accommodate the people who come for the mammogram services and all the other services they offer. We also always integrated our onsite services for people that day, whether it is blood pressure or STD and HIV screening. So, it was a very comprehensive day for people who might need that kind of service but never thought to come to us for them. So that's a conversation we will have to embark on to determine how we can revamp from how we used to do it to our new modality and temporary location until we can use the conference room again. But that's the least of the worries; administratively, we need to understand how we will accept all those populations as the mammogram van will now accept. President Harris asked if the van would also be revamped. Nurse Karen stated the van is operated and managed by the program not the City but has the newest 3-D imaging technology. Pres. Harris asked if they needed a conference room to hold initial meetings. Nurse Karen stated we need alternate space, whether it's City Hall or someplace where we would bring participants in and provide meals. If they were there for hours trying to wait, we would register between 30 and 35 people. So, in doing that process, the HD teams for Health Education, HIV, Nursing, etc., would offer education and our services. Hence, the public becomes familiar with the people who do the work and will feel comfortable returning. The staff from the van would do some education about their program as well. So, it became a phenomenal day for those who attended the screenings. pg. 7  EAST ORANGE BOARD OF HEALTH City of East Orange REGULAR MEETING East Orange Department of Health & Human Services NEW JERSEY 143 New Street East Orange, New Jersey 07017 November 21, 2023 Pres. Harris asked when the conference room would be available. Dir. Henry stated he needed to follow up with DPW to determine when the conference room would be available. We will also speak with the Administration to see whether Council chambers can be used while the mobile van parks in front of City Hall. It was also suggested that the Senior Services or Library conference rooms could be used. Interns Nurse Karen shared that out of the internships, four people were trying to apply. So far, she's had two successful connections with the paperwork: interviewing the students, speaking with the internship coordinators, and trying to get all their paperwork together. One, the third young lady canceled because she was trying to complete 225 hours between now and January. So, she was offered alternative sites that she may be able to go to obtain numerous internship hours. Nurse Karen asked her to reach out to ensure she was well supported on our end, even though we couldn't support what she was trying to do within the required timeframe. The other two students have a master's in public health from Chamberlain University, and this is the second or third time in my tenure here that we've had a student from that university. Nurse Karen said she spoke to the coordinator, who's lovely and amenable and wants to work with us. They also have other students that they would love to send. Once we have an affiliation agreement or a solid MOU with Chamberlain, they will direct students who live in this area to the East Orange Health Department, and we can most certainly try to accommodate them, or we'll at least interview them. So, the process is to bring the interns in for a tour and introduce them to HD staff, administrative people in the building, and City Hall, which seems to make people more anxious to be with us. Nurse Karen stated she also invites the interns to events before they start, if any are happening, which we just lucked out because we have two events that are happening within the next couple of weeks, just so they can get excited about the things that we do, that it's not just working in the office. Public Health is being out and seeing people, finding out what they need, and trying to affect changes in policy through many different venues. Of course, she tells them about the Board of Health and that they'll be attending a few meetings. She also directs them to the City Council meetings to see where everybody fits the structure. Nurse Karen shared Rutgers has two new internship coordinators with whom she has been in contact. So, they were very excited about what we do with the students and how much knowledge they can obtain here. So, the Rutgers student is a BSN student, and the coordinator was excited because she has DMP students and nurse practitioners. So, she was also looking more toward possibly doing an affiliation agreement. Nurse Karen shared she anticipates meeting with Mr. Ankrah to flesh out the details of having nursing students at different levels, intern with the City. pg. 8  EAST ORANGE BOARD OF HEALTH City of East Orange REGULAR MEETING East Orange Department of Health & Human Services NEW JERSEY 143 New Street East Orange, New Jersey 07017 November 21, 2023 And because it's very good to get insight from people who have the flexibility to write up projects and get things off the ground. And even if we just see that in their presentations, which they invite me to at the end of the semester, it's also good for us to have that motivation. Events Nurse Karen shared she would be attending a men's health awareness event at the EOPD. The HIV and COVID teams are slated to be there, and she will be providing blood pressure screenings, counseling, and referrals. The other event is on Dec 5 at Mildred Berry Garvin; they're hosting a community health fair again. This event has not been held for some time, so Nurse Karen expressed excitement about attending the event. Nurse Karen shared that other HD staff may attend and shared the information with Dr. Kamara and Ms. Starks. Strengthening Grant Nurse Karen shared that they are still working on the strengthening grant, with her particular role being the Infectious Disease generalist. Nurse Karen expressed hope that she and Mr. Ankrah can utilize the data collected during the grant application process to get a few new initiatives for hepatitis. That's one of our requirements or deliverables and would allow us to address any disparities in East Orange with hepatitis. President Harris remarked that it is truly gratifying to see that the nursing program and educational component is alive and well and has seemed to take off again, which is wonderful. All the other initiatives can create the expansion of various programs, and there's such tremendous potential to continue to grow. It will be phenomenal once Mr. Henry gets everything in place with everybody else's efforts. Dental Outreach Initiative Nurse Karen shared that Ms. Jeudy was looking to schedule the mobile dental van for the initiative, but they were unavailable. Every February, we used to celebrate Children's Dental Health Month and had a good connection with some of the schools that would host the event. Some dentists from UMD&J and local offices would speak with the children regarding dental health. At the time, we had our clinic, and our staff would also participate, which fostered the local connection with our residents. So, if you're interested in doing anything in February for Children's Dental Health Month, we could start working on it now, which would set us up for a lovely month and bring back that recognition here. Nurse Karen shared that she used to host UMD&J's dental health fair every year, and they are still interested in partnering with us. Dr. Cook asked for the age range they serviced. Nurse Karen stated the range was anywhere from pre-K to fourth grade. President Harris asked if the outreach program could be launched this February. Nurse Karen stated they could start with taking the toothbrushes and toothpaste to the schools but also wanted to reach out to some of pg. 9  EAST ORANGE BOARD OF HEALTH City of East Orange REGULAR MEETING East Orange Department of Health & Human Services NEW JERSEY 143 New Street East Orange, New Jersey 07017 November 21, 2023 the local dental health clinics that have sprung up. Dr. Cook stated there is a federally qualified health center on William and Clinton near the Health Department. Nurse Karen remarked that could be why Ms. Jeudy could not secure the mobile van. Ms. Jeudy is trying to see if someone with a mobile clinic is willing to come without creating conflict with the FQHCs. Dr. Cook stated that the FQHs are the only entities operating the mobile units. The State is stopping the mobile units to combat individuals coming from out of State to utilize our services because Medicaid pays well. They're doing the exam and the X-rays, leaving, and not turning those visits over to someone locally to get the work done. So, you can only operate a mobile unit in New Jersey if you have a brick-and-mortar. So, the majority of the mobile units are federally qualified health centers. You have to play nice if you have a federally qualified health center in your area. The mobile units can't come from another district to service clients in an FQHC's backyard. Nurse Karen shared that Dr. Pam, the CEO of our local FQHC, is very amenable to working with us over the years. Nurse Karen proposes collaborating with Dr. Pam and her team to provide school outreach services. So that would increase the census for them, for people who are taking advantage of her services since she's our local institution or even just from the FQHC standpoint. It's just that all people need to know we have that service at that particular facility. So that could be one of the things we could work on despite the mobile idea. The mobile idea is good, but sometimes, as you get people to know our standalone, it's also an advantage because it's more permanent. Board members reiterated the importance of us reimplementing our dental clinic to provide education from the dental side and get the professionals to come in and do the work, and then naturally, that will increase people's health-seeking behavior. In addition to the elementary and middle school-aged children, we must address the high school demographic. High schoolers have some outrageous eating habits. That also ties into smoking. Unattended oral hygiene can lead to severe consequences if they don't use available resources. Nursing Updates: VFC Clinic -Vaccines for Children’s Program Nurse Ankrah shared that there was an increase in patients for the VFC clinic during August, September, and October. We recognize that the number of children seen for immunization has increased from 29 to 77. And this is basically due to children preparing to go to school. Children in the age group of five to eighteen are where we a significant increase. The TB skin test increased from 27 tests to 40. After the 40 tests that were given, only 29 patients came back for reading. Out of the 29, only one was positive, which means that the induration was ten limiters or greater; however, when they went for the chest, it was negative. So, we don't have any positive TB patients. Pres. Harris asked if there was any follow-up for those children who returned positive to review their families. Nurse Ankrah stated there is always follow-up pg. 10  EAST ORANGE BOARD OF HEALTH City of East Orange REGULAR MEETING East Orange Department of Health & Human Services NEW JERSEY 143 New Street East Orange, New Jersey 07017 November 21, 2023 within the families, but this is usually the case with individuals not born in the US, so it automatically shows positive even though they do not have TB; it's just due to exposure. 317 Clinic Clinic 317 provides services to adults, such as STD testing. Number of patients seen; 30 in August; 19 in September; and 19 in October – trying to determine the reason for the drop in clientele. Most of the adults screened for STDs were between the ages of 35 and 44. Of 38 patients seen, 4 tested positive for gonorrhea, chlamydia, and syphilis; 3 were males within the age group of 25 and 44; and the 1 female tested positive for syphilis was age 67. We're monitoring the positive patients closely as they are under treatment. COVID Clinic Nurse Ankrah stated that Dr. Kamara is managing the COVID clinics well. Dr. Kamara is responsible for going to schools and nursing homes in case of a possible outbreak. We recently had a call from St. Joseph's school that five staff tested positive for COVID. Dr. Kamara went there to determine whether it was an outbreak. According to the State & CDC, an outbreak is defined as five people, or more, being affected by COVID-19. But when she went, the cases were sporadic and from different classrooms. So, we were not required to close the school. Instead, we provided management guidance for the existing cases and advised them to contact us when they think they have an outbreak so that we can take appropriate action. Cabinets Nurse Ankrah shared they are still waiting for a cabinet; however, we moved the antibiotics to secured cabinets. We are hoping to receive nicer cabinets to store medications in the near future. Staffing Nurse Ankrah stated he wants to create a permanent position for a nurse working with the team from a staffing agency. If brought on board, the nurse could assist with managing the contact tracing for their patients. HO DeFillipo shared that the State mandates that we enter data into the CDRSS or contact tracing system, and Nurse Ankrah is getting inundated with a buildup of cases. To avoid the State sending us query letters, it would be great to have additional staff to assist in that process so that Nurse Ankrah can focus on more emergent matters. President Harris asked if we were backlogged and by how much. Nurse Ankrah stated we have over one hundred cases in the system. Pres. Harris asked for the average amount of time given to input the data. HO DeFillipo explained the process needed and shared they have cases going back to September. The issue is the follow-up, so once we input the data, we reach out to the pg. 11  EAST ORANGE BOARD OF HEALTH City of East Orange REGULAR MEETING East Orange Department of Health & Human Services NEW JERSEY 143 New Street East Orange, New Jersey 07017 November 21, 2023 patients, but sometimes they do not respond. We make three attempts to contact the patient, and if we are not successful, we note the last date we attempted to make contact in the system. Pres. Harris asked if the nurse would be responsible for the CDRSS entries. Nurse Ankrah stated that she would need approval from the State to be allowed access to the CDRSS system first; then, she would assist in helping us catch up with the delinquent entries. Once that is completed, she will have other responsibilities. Nurse Ankrah mentioned he would speak with the Director to determine if bringing the nurse on Board is possible. Open Discussion: Electronic Cigarettes President Harris asked HO DeFillipo if Attorney Emeka reached out to him regarding your program for electronic cigarettes. HO DeFillipo stated he had not but shared that Orange passed a resolution to charge $1200 for the license to sell electronic cigarettes. Pres. Harris asked if it was an annual fee. HO DeFillipo stated it was an annual fee, which is the average for municipalities per the State. President Harris remarked we are missing out on money and that Attorney Emeka should reach out to obtain a copy of the passed legislation so we could get it implemented here in East Orange. HO DeFillipo stated he would share the information with the HD. Appointment of Director Henry President Harris asked Jada to thank the Mayor on behalf of the Board for appointing Mr. Henry as the Acting Director of the Department of Health. We appreciate his and the Administration's view and favorable assignment for him. He is doing a great job and will continue to do so to ensure the department grows and provides outstanding service for our residents. At the conclusion of Board business, President Harris adjourned the meeting at 7:22 pm. Respectfully submitted, Jo-Ann Lowe Board Clerk pg. 12