Board of Health

City of Nashua Division of Public Health & Community Services 18 Mulberry Street, Nashua, NH 03060 BOARD OF HEALTH MEETING January 9, 2012 12:30 PM 18 Mulberry Street Nashua, NH 03062 MEETING MINUTES BOH Members Present: Dr. Anthony Storace Dr. Ajay Sharma Dr. Peter Klementowicz Staff Present: Kerran Vigroux, Patty Crooker, Ashley Conley, Heidi Peek, Christine Villeneuve, Beverly Doolan, Bob Mack, Barbara Scacco Formal Meeting called to order at 12:45 p.m. by Dr. Storace Kerran Introduced Christine Villeneuve to the Board. Christine is the new Community Health Department Manager. Also mentioned, but not in attendance, are two other new employees: Shannon Casey, Public Health Nurse and Beverly Doolan, Program Coordinator who will be working on the Community Health Improvement Plan. 1. Vote on acceptance of the December 2012 meeting Minutes: a. Motion by Dr. Storace to accept the October 12, 2012 Minutes b. Motion seconded by Dr. Sharma c. All in Favor: Aye 1  Department Reports Community Health – Presented by Christine Villeneuve  Immunization Program Highlights o There has been an increase in the number of seniors over the age of 60 (who have no insurance or whose insurance doesn’t cover the vaccine) who have received the Shingles vaccine during immunization clinic. o Preschool and school audits are in the process of being completed o During the month of November there were 10 school flu clinics. o Two new refugee families attended clinic for immunizations and testing. Follow-up immunizations and lead testing have continues for refugees that resettled here earlier.  The team is working on completing STD/HIV/HCV planning in anticipation of the opening of the STD/HIV/HCV clinics.  The Healthy Homes Lead Poisoning Prevention Program continues to work on the Healthy Homes Strategic Plan for Nashua.  Refugee children continue to be screened for lead at the Nashua Community Health Department Immunization Clinic by Health Department staff.  Dr. Alexander Granok, DPHCS Medical Director will have a luncheon presentation for Providers about new LTBI treatment and testing at the Carl Amelio Room at St. Joseph’s Hospital on December 12, 2012. Health Education and Tobacco – Presented by Corinn Dembkoski  Health Education o Adult Learning Center Resource Fair  On November 13th and 14th, the Division participated in their Community Resource Fair, which was open to all staff, students and faculty members in order to connect them to resources and services.  Students who were in English as a Second Language (ESL) were required to ask us questions in English regarding the kinds of services we provide. o JABRA  On Tuesday, November 13th, Corinn attended JABRA’s employee health fair. JABRA is a local IT company which hosted a health and wellness fair for its employees.  Tobacco Prevention and Control o The Great American Smoke-out was Thursday, November 15, 2012 o It was decided that the Nashua Prevention Coalition and 5 health care organizations in the City would partner for this event and have a table display at all major health care centers in the City, as well as promote any counseling being offered. o Corinn attended the NH Public Health Association Fall forum, which focused on tobacco cessation and how it has become integrated in health care systems. o After meeting with the new Tobacco Prevention Coordinator for the City of Manchester, Deb Perkins, a conversation was held to discuss our scope of services and how we could collaborate on various projects. Environmental Health – Presented by Heidi Peek  The Staff worked on the Holiday Stroll by attending planning meetings, reviewing applications and conducting inspections. o At the Stoll, one restaurant failed to submit the required paperwork to participate, and therefore, was closed after it was also found that their outdoor set-up was not safe to consumers.  Two new licenses were issued during November. 2   In the month of November 2012, Licenses renewed were 52 and Temporary Licenses issued were 16.  Heidi Peek conducted an educational presentation for Gateways caseworkers on bed bugs with Corinn Dembkoski and Luis Porres.  Amanda Hyde has been attending the Principles of Epidemiology at the Manchester Health Department. Emergency Preparedness – Presented by Patty Crooker and Ashley Conley  Public Health Network Services Grant Alignment o On November 20th, an information session was held by the NH Division of Public Health Services and the NH Bureau of Drug and Alcohol Services in preparation for the release of the FY14 Public Health Network Services Grant RFP, which will include aligning the Substance Abuse Prevention Coalitions under the umbrella of the Public Health Networks. o A map showing the geographic changes to the majority of Public Health Regions was presented.  Nashua Information Sharing Workgroup o The Nashua Office of Emergency Management has organized an information sharing workgroup to address action items to improve our ability to share information with local, regional and state partners during emergencies.  Course Lecture – BSN Program – Rivier University o Our Epidemiologist taught a class on outbreak investigations, surveillance systems and infectious diseases at Rivier University for students.  Point of Dispensing (POD) Planning o The PHEP Coordinator, in partnership with Nashua OEM, met with leadership staff of both the Nashua Housing Authority and Davita Dialysis to discuss emergency planning and potential development of Closed POD Agreements o POD planning meetings were held with Hollis, Amherst and Hudson POD Regions to complete the annual updates of their POD Operational Plans in preparation for our annual Technical Assistance Review with the CDC in January 2013.  Healthcare Emergency Response Coalition of Greater Nashua o Public Health and Hospital Emergency Preparedness programs receiving federal funds from HHS and ASPR are now mandated to develop Healthcare Coalitions – a collaborative network of healthcare organizations whose primary function is to assist emergency management with health and medical preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation efforts. o In the Greater Nashua Public Health Region, we have had a group of healthcare partners operating in this capacity since 2006/2007.  New Hampshire Public Health Association Fall Forum o The Epidemiologist is on the Board of Directors and is co-chair of the Program Planning Committee. o The theme of the Fall Forum was: New Hampshire’s Public Health in Action: Innovation in an evolving Primary and Public Health Care System.  Clostridium difficile Initiative o The Infection Control Practitioners Group is partnering with the Northeast Healthcare Quality Foundation to implement an initiative on C. difficile to reduce transmission and increase communications between partners. o The group met for the first time in November and includes the hospitals and long term care facilities.  NH Shelter Surveillance Work Group o The Epidemiologist is co-chairing the Shelter Surveillance Work Group with the NH Department of Health and Human Services. o The goal for this group is to develop a surveillance protocol that can be used during disasters to assess the population health of residents in emergency shelters. 3 Welfare - Bob Mack presented  Expenditures for the month of November 2012 were slightly less than last year at this time. o The number of Contacts and Interviews were both down, and Assistance was about the same. o Vouchers issues went down a bit compared to last year.  We assisted 12 families and 1 individual in emergency shelter placements during November. o Welfare referred 5 families and 8 individuals to public shelters/homeless outreach during the month of November  The Greater Nashua Continuum of Care held their 7th annual Project Homeless Connect event on Tuesday, December 4, 2012 at Harbor Homes, 45 High Street. The event provided homeless and at-risk households opportunity to access information and services in one place. o Approximately 30 agencies participated at this year’s event and approximately 70 clients attended.  The Welfare Department has expended $252,588.20 for General Assistance in FY2013. Total expenditures are $56,229.34 less than this time last fiscal year.  Dr. Storace: o Questions: None o Closed this part of the session  Public Comments o None o Public session closed Motion to Adjourn by Dr. Storace Seconded by Dr. Sharma All in favor: Aye Meeting Ended at 1:40 PM. In accordance with the 2013 BOH Meeting Schedule, the next BOH Meeting will be held on Wednesday, January 9, 2013 at 12:30 p.m. Respectfully submitted: Barbara A. Scacco Administrative Assistant II City of Nashua Division of Public Health & Community Services 4