Board of Health and Human Services

CITY OF LONG BEACH FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2017 BOARD OF HEALTH AND HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES HUMAN SERVICES MINUTES 2525 GRAND AVENUE, ROOM 201, 7:45 AM Christine Petit, Chair Mel Marks, MD, Member Christopher Robson, Vice Chair Jody Rawles, MD, Member Ralph Brooks, RN, Member Renee Simon, Member Menchie Caliboso, Member Milton Smith, Member Jose Carillo, MD, Member Silene St. Bernard, DVM, Member Reena Curtis, PharmD, Member Sabira Tejani, MD, Member Troy Ha, DDS, Member Kelley Tenny, Member Lydia Vaias, MD, Member FINISHED AGENDA AND APPROVED MINUTES CALL TO ORDER At 7:48 a.m., Chair Petit called the meeting to order. ROLL CALL Commissioners Ralph Brooks, Troy Ha, Mel Marks, Jody Rawles, Renee Simon, Present: Milton Smith, Silene St Bernard, Lydia Vaias, Christopher Robson and Christine Petit Commissioners Menchie Caliboso, Reena Curtis and Sabira Tejani Excused: Commissioners Jose Carillo and Kelley Tenny Absent: Also present: Kelly Colopy, Director of Health and Human Services; Anissa Davis, MD, MPH, City Health Officer; Dennis Keith, Executive Assistant; John Kindred, Long Beach Environmental Alliance; Sokha Ny, Long Beach Environmental Alliance and Meghan Sweeney, Citizen/Student. Page 1 of 6 CITY OF LONG BEACH FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2017 BOARD OF HEALTH AND HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES HUMAN SERVICES MINUTES 2525 GRAND AVENUE, ROOM 201, 7:45 AM APPROVAL OF MINUTES 17-054BH Recommendation to approve the minutes of the Board of Health and Human Services meeting held Friday, October 13, 2017. A motion was made by Vice Chair Robson, seconded by Member St Bernard, to approve recommendation. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 10 - Ralph Brooks, Troy Ha, Mel Marks, Jody Rawles, Renee Simon, Milton Smith, Silene St Bernard, Lydia Vaias, Christopher Robson and Christine Petit Excused: 3 - Menchie Caliboso, Reena Curtis and Sabira Tejani Absent: 2 - Jose Carillo and Kelley Tenny PUBLIC PARTICIPATION: Members of the public are invited to address the Board on items of interest to the public within the Agency Board jurisdiction. Each speaker will be limited to two minutes unless that time is extended by the Chair. There was no public comment. REGULAR AGENDA 17-055BH Recommendation to discuss Board of Health/City Leadership Relationship Building. Boardmember Rawles joined the meeting at 7:49 a.m. Boardmember St. Bernard provided an update from the Board of Health/City Leadership Relationship Building subcommittee. It was determined that due to concerns related to complying with the Brown Act, that the original plan of holding a breakfast meeting at City Hall with the City Councilmembers was not feasible. It was determined that the Board would move forward with a plan to send out an invitation to the Mayor, City Council, City Manager and/or their staff to attend the February 9, 2018 Board of Health and Human Services meeting, which would be Page 2 of 6 CITY OF LONG BEACH FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2017 BOARD OF HEALTH AND HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES HUMAN SERVICES MINUTES 2525 GRAND AVENUE, ROOM 201, 7:45 AM held at the Miller Family Health Education Center. The Board discussed the main topics of discussion for this future meeting which include: fostering open communication and reinforcing to the Council that the Board does not represent specific Council districts, but instead takes a Citywide focus. The Board discussed focusing on one or two primary City public health issues such as Public Health Emergency Management, Epidemiology/Communicable Disease Control or issues related to the legalization of Marijuana. There was also discussion related to the limited, or lack of, funding to sufficiently address some of these critical public health issues. The ultimate goal of the meeting would be to reinforce with the Mayor, Council and City Manager that the Board is a resource that can inform on issues related to public health policy. Kelly Colopy, Director of Health and Human Services, reminded the Board that responses to the Mayor and City Council would need to follow established protocols and the chain of command. The Board held brief discussions regarding their ability to provide advice to the Mayor and Council on a timely basis when the Board only meets once a month, and on how the Board can best communicate with each other on issues other than during a regularly scheduled Board meeting. The Board also briefly discussed the potential of amending and strengthening the charter language related to the Board’s advisory duties in a manner that would reinforce the requirement for the Board to be consulted on issues related to the public health and discussed other items in the current charter, such as the requirement for the Board to file an annual report and the City Council’s annual requirement to evaluate the Board’s performance. This BH-Agenda Item was received and filed. ONGOING BUSINESS 17-056BH Recommendation to receive and file an update on the status of the City's implementation of the legalization of marijuana. Ms. Colopy informed the Board that an item is scheduled for the November 14th City Council agenda that requests the City Attorney to draft an Ordinance to temporarily ban the retail sale, cultivation, manufacture, distribution and laboratory testing of adult-use marijuana in Long Beach until best practices can be identified and recommendations can be developed to appropriately regulate the retail sale, cultivation, manufacture, distribution and laboratory testing of Page 3 of 6 CITY OF LONG BEACH FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2017 BOARD OF HEALTH AND HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES HUMAN SERVICES MINUTES 2525 GRAND AVENUE, ROOM 201, 7:45 AM adult-use marijuana. A brief discussion ensued regarding issues related to the economic equity of licensing adult-use marijuana dispensaries. John Kindred and Sokha Ny, from the Long Beach Environmental Alliance, spoke on this item, calling attention to previously undiscussed issues relating to the environmental impact of the litter created by the improper disposal of plastic medical marijuana containers. A bag of empty containers was produced to show how many had been picked up during a recent beach cleanup event and Mr. Kindred stated that the number of these containers littering the environment would only rise once Medical and Adult-Use Marijuana dispensaries were opened in the City. Mr. Kindred also mentioned issues related to the health and safety of the marijuana being sold, citing that a recent study had shown that most the marijuana sold as organic was tested to show that it contained various levels of pesticides, which had caused illness in those using it. This BH-Agenda Item was received and filed. 17-057BH Recommendation to receive and file an update on the status of the City's efforts to reduce the rates of HIV and STD's. Anissa Davis, City Health Officer, provided information on 2016 STD incidence rate data in Long Beach. STD incidence rates continue rise, with the City of Long Beach being 2nd in the State for Chlamydia, with 3,863 cases; 3rd in the State for Gonorrhea, with 1,489 cases; and 4th in the State for Syphilis, with 149 cases. Cases of Chlamydia were primarily located in the 90805, 90806 and 90813 zip codes; Gonorrhea cases were primarily located in the 90802, 90805 and 90813 zip codes; and Syphilis cases were primarily located in the 90802, 90804 and 90813 zip codes. HIV rates currently remain stable in Long Beach. A discussion ensured regarding the lack of available funding to address these rates. Ms. Colopy mentioned that the City was working with Los Angeles County on a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that would identify the City as a jurisdiction, instead of a grantee for future funding This BH-Agenda Item was received and filed. 17-058BH Recommendation to receive and file an update on the status of the Port of Long Beach On-Dock Rail Support Yard Project, as it relates to the Department's Multi-Service Center for the Homeless. Ms. Colopy informed the Board that the Department had received funding from Page 4 of 6 CITY OF LONG BEACH FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2017 BOARD OF HEALTH AND HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES HUMAN SERVICES MINUTES 2525 GRAND AVENUE, ROOM 201, 7:45 AM the Port of Long Beach for HVAC improvements for the Multi-Service Center. This BH-Agenda Item was received and filed. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S REPORT Ms. Colopy informed the Board that for the first time since she has been Director, the Department now has a fully-staffed management team. Lara Turnbull had recently been promoted to the position of Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention Officer; Sandy Wedgeworth was promoted to Special Projects Officer for the Public Health Emergency Management Division; and Nida Watkins was recently hired as the Housing Operations Program Officer for the Long Beach Housing Authority. Ms. Colopy also mentioned that an update on the Language Access Policy was scheduled for the November 14th City Council agenda, which includes a council request for a report on the feasibility of integrating multi-language signage in the new Civic Center and other City buildings. Ms. Colopy informed the Board that there were spaces available for an upcoming two-day Community Facilitator Training course that will be held on November 29th and December 14th, and that the Default Beverage Ordinance was approved by the City Council on November 7th. Ms. Colopy spoke briefly regarding the recent notice of the closure of Community Hospital due to a seismic report showing an active fault beneath the facility. A study session is currently scheduled for November 14th to discuss the potential future of the site. Only ambulatory services will be allowed at the location, and the ER will close. A brief discussed ensured regarding appropriate future services that could operate at the facility. Ms. Colopy also mentioned that Department held a drive-through flu clinic that provided over 600 immunizations to the community. CITY HEALTH OFFICER'S REPORT Dr. Davis provided a brief update on the Hepatitis A outbreak in San Diego, Santa Cruz and LA City. To date there have been 684 cases Statewide, with 421 hospitalizations and 21 deaths. A new strain has been identified in an outbreak among the Men Who Have Sex with Men (MSM) population. There have been no Long Beach cases associated with this outbreak. The Department has scheduled additional immunization clinics to provide vaccination to vulnerable populations. Boardmember Ha exited the meeting at 9:16 a.m. Page 5 of 6 CITY OF LONG BEACH FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2017 BOARD OF HEALTH AND HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES HUMAN SERVICES MINUTES 2525 GRAND AVENUE, ROOM 201, 7:45 AM ANNOUNCEMENTS Boardmember Simon brought to the Boards attention an article from the New Yorker Magazine on the Opioid Epidemic. Boardmember St. Bernard briefly discussed an issue relating to the over prescribing of opioid medications. Boardmember Brooks reminded the Board of the Veteran’s Day parade that weekend. ADJOURNMENT At 9:26 a.m. the meeting was adjourned. Note: A digital recording of this meeting will be available in the Health and Human Services Department. The City of Long Beach provides reasonable accommodations in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. If a special accommodation is desired, or if an agenda is needed in an alternative format, please contact Dennis Keith, Executive Assistant, 48 hours prior to the meeting at (562) 570-4014 or (562) 570-6626 (telecommunications device for the deaf), or by email at dennis.keith@longbeach.gov. Page 6 of 6