Board of Health

CITY OF GARDNER OFFICE OF THE BOARD OF HEALTH 95 PLEASANT ST, ROOM 29 GARDNER, MASSACHUSETTS 01440 Members Present: Lauren Saunders – Health Director Susan Avallone, RN - Member Atty. Geoffrey Tobia – Member Michele Parker, MD – Member Minutes for Board of Health meeting held Monday July 20, 2020 ________________________________________________________________________________ *Pursuant to Governor Baker’s March 12, 2020 Order Suspending Certain Provisions of the Open Meeting Law, G.L. c. 30A, §20, and the Governor’s March 15, 2020 Order imposing strict limitation on the number of people that may gather in one place, this meeting of the Gardner Board of Health will be conducted via remote participation. The transcript of proceedings will be posted on the City’s website as soon as possible after the meeting. 4:30 Meeting called to order. 4:32 Minutes from the April 14, 2020 meeting were reviewed, discussed and approved. 4:32 Old Business Body Art Regulations: Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic the Board had been updating the Body Art Regulations and creating guidelines for an apprenticeship program. Those regulations are still in draft and need further discussion. There has been an increased interest in people seeking apprenticeship. The Board agrees to review the draft again before the next meeting and decided that if the agenda is too busy for a discussion they may need to add a separate meeting to work toward completing the regulations. Lauren informs the Board that the Anatomy of the Skin course once offered in Quincy is no longer available. This was an alternative for the licensure requirement of a college-level Anatomy & Physiology course. The owner of Main St Tattoo has asked if another course offered at Save Each Life in Springfield called Anatomy, Physiology and Skin Course for Tattoo and Body Piercing Practitioners, and Blood Borne Pathogens would be considered as an accepted alternative. Tina Rusak, RN is researching this class to see if it is an appropriate alternative. Staff Vacancy: There is still a vacancy of a part-time Administrative Coordinator in the License Commission. There were not many qualified applicants and Lauren did conduct one interview. She does have another applicant to consider and will be attempting to schedule an interview. 4:45 New Business COVID-19: The office has been working with callers from local businesses, youth sports groups, and event organizers to help them implement the current phase of the Governor’s Reopening Massachusetts plan, which is currently in Phase III, Step 1. National Night Out has been cancelled as it usually attracts a large crowd. Social distancing and number of attendees would be difficult to monitor and maintain. There is a new State Tip Line for residents to report concerns over COVID-19 restriction violations. The information is then shared with the Department of Labor Standards (DLS) and the local Board of Health offices to investigate. The DLS has checklists and guides for every type of business for employers to follow to help mitigate the spread of the virus.  There is a mass-inoculation webinar, Immunizing in the Time of COVID-1, on Thursday July 23 at 3pm that the Director and Assistant Director will attend. Sue and Dr. Parker are also interested and Lauren will send the link to them. There is a brief conversation about our Emergency Dispensing Plan (EDS) if a vaccine becomes available. There is a vaccine refrigerator in the BOH office which has not been used in several years. It was recently monitored and has not been holding temperature. Dr. Parker has a State-approved vaccine refrigerator in her practice, although she is uncertain if the size would accommodate our needs. The hospital may be able to assist. The Schools are required to create 3 plans for reopening to submit to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education by August. The plans need to include contingencies for remote learning, in-person learning and a hybrid plan with a combination of in-person and remote learning. Lauren has been in communication with Becky McCaffrey, RN who is the School Nurse Leader for Gardner Public Schools. There is a Department of Public Health call tomorrow to discuss options. Other: The office has been working to wrap up the FY2020 budget and working with the new Mayor to finalize the FY2021 budget. The LUK grant was set to expire on 6/30/20 but has been extended through September 2020 and is likely to be further extended through 6/30/2021. The office has been very busy with housing and food inspections as we have resumed conducting in-home inspections again. There are also the usual seasonal yard complaints along with COVID- 19 related calls. Lauren has also witnessed multiple percolation tests. The Transfer Station is operating at full capacity on its regular schedule with the addition of instructional signage. Visitors and attendants are required to wear masks when social distancing cannot be maintained. Next meeting set for Monday, August 17, 2020 at 4:30 PM and will be a remote/teleconference meeting. 5:00 Adjourn. ___________________________ _______________________ _________________________ Susan Avallone RN, Member Atty. Geoffrey Tobia, Member Michele C. Parker MD, Member All conversations are documented on ‘You Tube’ identified as B.O.H July 20, 2020 Meeting