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 January 16, 2024 MEETING MINUTES Time 1:31 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 in this meeting. Zoom Communication ID: 869 0756 3562 Meeting Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86907563562?pwd=N3h0cVpCVDJiQyt0MFNHNHRNakU1QT09 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 Dr. Tonya X. Cook Council Liaison: Naiima Fauntleroy Board of Health Counsel: Attorney Emeka Madubuogo Health Department Staff: Horace Henry, Acting HHS Director Health Officer Dr. Gina Diaz 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 January 16, 2024 Public in attendance: None Approval of December 19, 2023, Meeting Minutes: Approved Unanimously President Harris Updates: Nomination of Officers Christine Harris and Tobbia Corbitt were selected to remain in their positions as Board President and Vice President unanimously by the Board during the nomination process. Welcoming of New Council Liaison The Board welcomed Ms. Naiima Fauntleroy as the newly elected City Council Liaison for the Board of Health. Councilwoman Fauntleroy expressed gratitude for the welcome and shared excitement to be working with the Board members in a new capacity. Councilwoman Fauntleroy shared some topics the Administration would like to address with the support of the Board, such as mental health, autism tracking, and infant mortality. President Harris and Mrs. Corbitt shared that they were excited to work alongside Councilwoman Fauntleroy to provide information and services to East Orange residents and thanked her for attending the meeting. Director Henry Updates: HO Dr. Gina Diaz Director Henry introduced the new Health Officer, Dr. Gina Diaz, to the Board. Dr. Diaz shared her background as a health officer for over a dozen years and her experience as an RN for 42 years. Dr. Diaz shared she also has a doctorate in Nursing with a master’s degree in public health and nursing. Dr. Diaz expressed her passion for public health and excitement about working for East Orange. President Harris shared that the Board was excited to welcome Dr. Diaz as they have been searching for a Health Officer for some time. VP Corbitt asked if Dr. Diaz was a resident of East Orange. Dr. Diaz stated she was not but that she has relatives who reside in the surrounding municipalities and is therefore available for emergencies. Status of the Purchased Vehicles President Harris asked for the status of the two vehicles Director Henry intends to purchase. Director Henry shared that the first vehicle is at the dealership and on point for delivery. The second vehicle will be ordered once Edmonds has completed its annual end-of-year rollover, and the purchasing process is completed. CHIP & CHA (Community Health Improvement Plan and Health Assessment) Director Henry shared that Former Director Micheal Hodges visited the HD to share that his company, Strategic Health Advisors provides a comprehensive community health assessment. Mr. Hodges is going to send a scope of work along with their proposal, but we will utilize our current internal sources before using an outside company. The survey prepared by Mr. Martin would encompass our homeless program, becoming eligible for the Mayor’s Wellness campaign, and other funding that can be acquired. 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 January 16, 2024 Board Funding Director Henry shared that there is a budget line associated with the Board of Health and is working to ensure that the line is sufficiently funded going forward. Organizational Charts President Harris asked for an update regarding the org chart. Director Henry stated they are still working on it and the recently hired new staff will also be included in the final chart. Staff Evaluations Director Henry shared that he completed all staff evaluations with both the supervisors and their staff. Director Henry complimented the supervisors for taking the time to sit with their staff to thoroughly explain the evaluation process and delivering the evaluations by the deadline. Nurse Karen Updates: HD Pamphlet Nurse Karen stated the pamphlet currently being used is a generic one that we've use for the last year and a half. To her knowledge, it does have most of the components except for Mr. Blakely's unit. So, it's a very good stand-in until Ms. Jade completes the updated version. Interns Nurse Karen stated they are still in the process of onboarding the new students and thanked Director Henry for providing her with administrative support. Nurse Karen shared that they received their first student from Chamberlain and are working with students from Rutgers. Homelessness Task Force Updates: Homelessness Task Force Initiatives Keyron Blakely, manager of the Homelessness Task Force, introduced himself to the Board. Mr. Blakely shared he and his team would be at Mt. Olive Church this Friday, between the hours of 10 AM and 2 PM, to feed the homeless. During the visit, we will be counting the homeless individuals in the city of East Orange. President Harris asked if there was an estimate of how many homeless people there are in East Orange. Mr. Blakely shared that last year’s counts were 64 were considered unsheltered, and 54 were sheltered throughout shelters in Essex County, but that number is considerably inaccurate. Both the director and myself went out maybe two weeks ago and we count double of that out unsheltered in the City of East Orange. Mr. Blakely shared that he would be doing another count overnight within the next two weeks to make sure the numbers are accurate. Mr. Blakely shared they have planned a Homeless Connection Day, which will be on January 24th at Essex County College. We'll have a table there as well to give donations to the homeless population as well. President Harris asked if they have grant funding to supplement those services. Mr. Blakely shared they are trying to obtain grants to assist their program. Overview of Services President Harris asked for an overview of the services the Homelessness Team provides. Mr. Blakely shared Mayor Green’s goal for our program to provide rapid rehousing, particularly for individuals who are chronically homeless, who have been homeless from 6 to 12 months at any given time in a 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 January 16, 2024 calendar year, or those individuals who are sheltered homeless. What we find is that many times throughout the city of East Orange, we get opportunities or tags for individuals who want us to become housing navigators, and we waste a lot of time doing that. So we want to center our energy on better helping those individuals who are sleeping outside. President Harris asked if we have any staff who can provide psychiatric support or mental health individuals who can assist. Director Henry stated we do not have a specific unitary department for that, but we're hoping that through the homeless initiative program, we can garner such support. President Harris asked if CareWell would be a component of this process. Director Henry stated they had an initial meeting with CareWell recently, and they advised they have a mental health unit that can assist. Mr. Blakely stated he has spoken with CareWell’s point of contact for mental health services and is in the process of scheduling a meeting to discuss this further. Domestic Violence Cases Ms. Lakina Rollins introduced herself to the Board as the Social Case Worker Supervisor for the Homelessness Task Force. Ms. Rollins shared that the domestic violence population receives up to $3,000 for relocation funds. So, if they're trying to escape their perpetrator, sometimes we contact out- of-state agencies depending on the severity of the case. Ms. Rollins stated that she helps victims through the entire process and is always a resource. Ms. Rollins stated that she also provides therapeutic services if they need me to, as they try to understand and process what's transpired. Often they do feel a lot of guilt and shame of themselves, which is addressed in the therapeutic services. Referrals are provided for children who seek therapy as well. President Harris remarked that this is a very comprehensive service. President Harris asked how many victims of domestic violence there had been in the previous year. Ms. Rollins stated she has only been with the City for approximately eight months, but during that time, she has met with nine clients. Ms. Rollins explained that mentorship helps with identifying the signs of domestic violence and self-love practices, especially for the youth. Migrant Population VP Corbitt asked if the Homelessness Team has noticed an influx of migrants amongst the homeless population. Ms. Rollins shared that they had a meeting with the Mayor regarding the influx of migrants. We are aware that they're coming and have received comprehensive instructions on how to handle them. What we’ve learned is that they are coming here by way of paperwork. They should have some type of paperwork once they get here, depending on where they're coming from, and that paperwork has assigned them to a destination where they should be. So we're pretty much assisting them in that destination. The destinations are individual states, which is why you see an influx of mayors protesting. Realistically, there are not enough resources. We barely have resources for our population and our residents who reside here, especially in East Orange. We don't have shelters here to house migrants, so we would transfer them to other asylum cities, such as Newark or New York, which are equipped with resources that could assist migrants. 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 January 16, 2024 Nurse Ankrah Updates: School Immunization Audits Nurse Ankrah shared that he and the Nursing Team are conducting their school immunization audits. Letters have been sent to Ms. Santos and Dr. Coleman to pass on to the school nurses. So, we go to the schools and make sure that each child's immunization is up to date. And then usually, if a child falls short, we give them 30 days, and then we'll go back and make sure that the child received their up-to-date immunizations. We are currently working with some newer school nurses by providing training on the auditing process. The audits are expected to begin the first week of February, which will allow ample time to get the children's records. They separate immunization records from the child's general medical records, and then they give us a list so that we can perform the audit. This is what we're embarking on now. Attorney Madubuogo Updates: E-cigarettes Ordinance Attorney Emeka shared that he has reviewed the ordinance provided to him. Attorney Hunt and Attorney Dorsey are in the process of reviewing the ordinance as it applies to more than just e- cigarettes but cannabis. The purpose of the review is to ensure that the language of the document doesn’t impede on our more recently passed cannabis legislation. Attorney Emeka suggested that the BOH work with the Health & Education Committee to ensure the final ordinance is comprehensive and addresses both cannabis and e-cigarettes. President Harris reiterated that the intent of the ordinance is to create a fee for those who sell electronic cigarettes and their associated flavored products, which would supply a stream of revenue from their sales for the City. Attorney Emeka stated that based on this new understanding, he would copy the sections pertaining to the violations & penalties and highlight those for Attorney Hunt’s consideration for the finalized legislation. VP Corbitt asked what happened to the original ordinance the Board had previously prepared pertaining to electronic cigarettes. President Harris stated she would share the ordinance with Attorney Emeka for comparison with the one submitted by HO DeFillipo. Open Discussion: Ayinde Martin introduced himself to the Board and shared his many years of experience with public outreach within East Orange and in other States. Mr. Martin shared a presentation featuring the quality-of-life survey he created to support the Community Needs Assessment. The survey aims to collect data that identifies the well-being and overall health of East Orange residents. The survey would be a part of a larger initiative that would involve our internal divisions, City Departments, and programs such as MOET by getting workers and students to go door to door and community events and have residents complete the survey. Mr. Martin shared his goal to start distributing the survey by the end of January 2024 and collect the data over the course of a year. The target is to collect the data of a minimum of 20,000 residents out of our roughly 70,000+ population. Mr. Martin explained some of the data that would be collected within the survey, such as their age, race, gender, household income, marital status, voting status, educational level, and other questions that would allow us to gather a comprehensive outlook on our residents. There are also open-ended questions such as what they feel are their biggest concerns and for their input on anything that is not covered by the survey. Mr. Martin 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 January 16, 2024 shared that the survey is available in English, Spanish & French. They are working on translating the survey into Creole to address our Haitian population. Trustee Jones-Williams complemented the survey and asked if residents were able to skip questions without disabling their ability to complete the survey. Mr. Martin stated that residents would be able to complete the survey even if they skipped some questions. President Harris asked how they would follow up with individuals who may share distressing information or need immediate resources in the absence of collecting names during the surveys. Mr. Martin stated that they will have pamphlets that outline resources and contact information and allow them to provide their email address if they are in need. Mr. Martin reiterated that it is still in the development stages and would include the feedback he received from the Board on the final product. VP Corbitt thanked Ayinde and concurred with other board members that the survey was comprehensive and much needed. At the conclusion of Board business, President Harris adjourned the meeting at 7:28 pm. Respectfully submitted, Jo-Ann Lowe Board Clerk pg. 6