Board of Health

City of Nashua Division of Public Health & Community Services 18 Mulberry Street, Nashua, NH 03060 BOARD of HEALTH MEETING January 13, 2016 12:30 PM 18 Mulberry Street, 2nd floor Nashua, NH 03060 MEETING MINUTES BOH Members Present: Dr. Anthony Storace, Chair Dr. Thomas Astolfi Dr. Charles Cappetta Aldermanic Liaison Present: Thomas Lopez, Ward 4 Meeting was called to order at 12:33 pm. Board members were given copies of the agenda, department reports, and materials for the Quality Improvement Plan presentation Minutes: Dr. Cappetta made a motion to accept the December, 2015 minutes, Dr. Astolfi seconded the motion. Unanimous passage. Presentation: Alana Evans, who has been interning with the Division, gave a presentation on her project which has been centered on Domain 9 of the Public Health Accreditation Standards and Measures: Performance Management. Domain 9 focuses on quality improvement practices and processes for the continuous improvement of the public health department’s practices, programs and interventions. In order to meet the standards within this domain, the Division must show two examples of our quality improvement process. As a result of Alana’s internship, the Division now has a Performance Management team made up of representatives from each of the four Departments that meets regularly to propose and work through different areas that have been identified as quality improvement opportunities. Alana’s internship was focused on helping the Division create a Quality Improvement Plan by improving our Internship Requests and Approvals process. Alana demonstrated to the BOH the tracking tool that the Division will now use each 1 time we receive a request for an internship placement as well as the different tools that were identified by the Performance Management Team as instrumental in helping them work through the quality improvement process of “Plan-Do-Check-Act”. The Board and Senior Staff thanked Alana for her hard work and for her dedication to her project. Reports: Public Health Network Services (EP & SMP) Lisa announced that she will be conducting an informational sessions for Parents tonight at Fairgrounds school. This is the same presentation that she has conducted in collaboration with the Nashua Police Department on “How to Speak to your Child about Drugs”. She will be attending the public hearing at the State House for the Opioid Task Force. Community Education This section of the agenda will be postponed until the Program Assistant position is filled. Kerran reported that first rounds of interviews were coming up and that hopefully the position will be filled soon. Program Coordinator/CHIP Beverly reported that the Public Health Advisory Council met and 17 members attended. There are three new members from Bishop Guertin, United Way and Temple Beth Abraham. Beverly also mentioned that we had two retirees this month. Betty Wendt, one of our Public Health Nurses and Sue LaPointe. Sue had been with the Division for 31.5 years! The Board of Health and Senior Staff wish them all the best. Community Health Jackie reported that National Immunization Week had the Community Health Department (CHD) busy this month. They hosted a community presentation at the Nashua Public Library about the benefits of Immunizations. She also reported that the Milford SHARE clinic is continuing and going strong. The community has really embraced the opportunity to speak with nurses and our outreach staff during the monthly clinic and it has become a significant resource to their community. The CHD has also begun standing outreach clinics at the Nashua Soup Kitchen and Shelter which have been well received. The CHD is working on several GI outbreaks (Norovirus) at a few of the Long Term Care Facilities in Nashua. Luis has begun spending one day a week with the Environmental Health Department helping with Spanish-speaking food service establishments. Alderman Lopez offered to share outreach information with the residents of his Ward. Environmental Health Heidi reported on one license suspension due to open sewer pipes in the basement. The owners responded quickly and the license was reinstated the next day. She also reported that there was a skunk that tested positive for rabies, with no human exposure, however a dog was exposed. Heidi mentioned that Ren completed the five Public health courses at the Manchester Health Department’s Institute for Public Health Practice. Congratulations to Ren and Jackie – our most recent graduates and to Erin for completing the latest course as well. 2 Ren reported on the lab tests for the EHD. He also worked with the CHD nurse on an outbreak at one of our LTCF, reviewing food service practices, laundry and handwashing between tasks and rooms. Ren also assisted the Code Enforcement Department at 104 Pine Street on health/life safety issues. A follow-up is being scheduled. Ren has been working with Rivier to establish a partnership in learning opportunity. Rivier would like to add a lab aspect to their Environmental Health course and he will continue to work with them to develop the program. Welfare Department Bob reported that there has not been much of a change between this December and December 2014’s numbers, and no real significant change in the numbers of vouchers issued. The Welfare department assisted 19 families this month and the Shelters are full. Bob reminded everyone that the community is planning its annual Project Homeless Connect event on 1/27. The Community Health Department staff will also be supporting the event with immunizations. Bob wanted to recognize his staff for their work with the Toys for Tots program. They, along with the help from DPW and Parks and Rec assisted over 400 children to receive gifts this year. Healthy Homes Amy reported that there are currently four homes under order for remediation. She believes the uptick in young children being identified for lead poisoning is a direct result of increased screening being done by pediatricians. Dr. Cappetta reported that because of being on the Board and working with the Public Health staff that his office has been increasing the screening of two year olds. He believes that awareness amongst pediatricians has increased and they are no longer just thinking about zip codes as high-risk, but are screening all children. He believes it needs to be a provider-driven initiative, and that parents are agreeing to testing if the physician is recommending and explaining it well enough. Kudos Public Health!! Public Comments None Dr. Astolfi made a motion to adjourn. Dr. Cappetta seconded the motion. The motion passed. Meeting adjourned at 1:28 PM. The next meeting will be February 10, 2016 3