Board of Health

CITY OF SALEM BOARD OF HEALTH MEETING MINUTES December 10, 2018 MEMBERS PRESENT: Paul Kirby, Chair, Dr. Jeremy Schiller, Kerry Murphy, Geraldine Yuhas, Datanis Elias ABSENT: Beth Gerard, City Council Liaison OTHERS PRESENT: Elizabeth Gagakis, Acting Health Agent, Suzanne Darmody, Public Health Nurse, Maureen Davis, Clerk of the Board, Lisa Cammarata, Director of Human Resources, David Greenbaum, Candidate for Health Agent position and a Salem State University student observing the meeting TOPIC DISCUSSION/ACTION 1. Call to Order 7:02pm 2. Interview with Candidate David D. Greenbaum was asked to speak to the Board about his experience. Greenbaum for Health Agent Beginning in 2003, he worked for 12 years at the Salem Board of Health Position as both Senior Sanitarian and then as Acting Health Agent. In February of 2016 he left Salem to take the position of Health Director in Saugus. G. Yuhas asked him to tell about how he met with the police and fire departments during his time in Salem. In 2009 he started the North Shore Regional Elder Assistance Coordination Team, or NSREACT, which worked in collaboration with the police and fire departments to address the needs of the elderly. In 2011 the program was honored by North Shore Elder Services. Once he left Salem the program just sort of dissipated. D. Greenbaum distributed a 30/60/90 Day Plan of Action he created should he get the Health Agent position. G. Yuhas asked about his experience with grants. D. Greenbaum said that while he did not have much experience with writing grants, he is not afraid to pursue grant opportunities. K. Murphy asked about his plan regarding food pantries. She said the Health Agent can let the food pantries know about events where there may be leftover food available. D. Greenbaum explained that he would work together with the food pantries to provide food rescue programs and he would make sure the food is safe for consumption. He believes strongly in trying to foster positive working relationships. D. Greenbaum feels Salem is a great place for Health Agents to get good training. He said many previous Salem Health Department employees moved on to use the experience they got in Salem to secure positions as Health Agents in other cities and towns. Like himself, he noted that both Sharon Cameron in Peabody and Jeff Vaughn in Swampscott were trained in Salem. P. Kirby asked if the possibility of the proposal for an ISD makes him want to shy away from the Health Agent position. D. Greenbaum said he would need more information to make an informed decision. P. Kirby agrees with what G. Yuhas has said all along; it’s important to have a department head to guide the department through the ISD proposal process. G. Yuhas asked about his experience with budgets. D. Greenbaum said he had previous experience with the budget process in Salem and he also does in Saugus. He said he would love to have a community health outreach person in-house. The position could possibly be funded by grants. P. Kirby asked him to tell about his management style. D. Greenbaum said he is not a micro-manager. He oversees his staff, but likes to trust that they are doing their jobs. Tasks will be set and goals will be met. P. Kirby asked what qualifications he has for the Health Agent position. He stated he is a Registered Sanitarian, is ServSafe food safety certified and is a proctor to teach and give the test, is a Certified Pool Operator, lead paint determinator and Title 5 systems inspector. He is not a soil evaluator, but it is not necessary in Salem because only about 1% of the homes in Salem are on Title 5. He also has all the ICS credentials and is working toward his Certified Health Officer certification. G. Yuhas asked about well inspections. D. Greenbaum said the only wells we would have to worry about are for private drinking water and we would rely on DEP regulations for that. E. Gagakis reported that she got an inquiry about private wells for the construction of two new houses at the end of Intervale Road, but she hasn’t seen the contractor since the initial conversation. We should be looking at updating our well regulations. P. Kirby asked him to explain his self-organization systems. He said he likes to use white boards, etc. J. Schiller asked how he gets along with the Board in Saugus. He said he gets along great with the Board. G. Yuhas asked how he gets along with his staff. He said he gets along great with his staff. He understands that each member of his staff does things in their own way, but he expects reports, etc., to be consistent throughout the department. P. Kirby asked him to explain his style with regard to how to deal with restaurants. He said his goal is compliance, not punitive, but he is not afraid to enforce regulations and policies or fine or even close a restaurant down if need be. We will do what needs to be done to protect public health. He feels he had a good working relationship with the business community when he was in Salem. K. Murphy asked what he feels are the biggest public health challenges in Salem. He said the opioid crisis and homelessness. K. Murphy said it would be great to see the department be able to focus more on preventative health and work with the Salem for All Ages Committee. He said he is not against doing inspections himself if need be to help the department. He would not ask his staff to do something he is not willing to do himself.  He said he is willing to look at all points of view to help move things forward. L. Cammarata suggested the Board invite D. Greenbaum to do a closing summation. D. Greenbaum closed by saying this is a position he has always wanted to have. He thinks it would be a good fit. 3. Board Members Review/Discussion P. Kirby said the Board can make a decision tonight or meet at another of Health Agent Candidates time. G. Yuhas thinks D. Greenbaum would be a great fit because he can move right in. He is certainly well-qualified and he has innovative ideas. K. Murphy was impressed with his 30/60/90 Day Action Plan. D. Elias thinks he could hit the ground running, which is what the staff wants and needs. He came well-prepared today. J. Schiller thought he was excellent. He seems to get along great with everyone. He has a calm, even-keeled demeanor. P. Kirby agreed with all. He liked his low-key approach. P. Kirby wants to enter the letter from the Health Department staff into the record. J. Schiller addressed the present staff and asked if we had any reservations with D. Greenbaum. E. Gagakis said she has no reservations. His managerial style is great. The staff can feel comfortable to approach him with anything. S. Darmody said he helped her when she first started. He taught her how they set up and ran the flu clinics, etc. He was very helpful and supportive. E. Gagakis said that she feels K. Waller’s level of public health is much higher than what our needs are now. L. Cammarata suggested a term of appointment or a contract that can have a reappointment. Discussion of terms followed. J. Schiller said terms have to be extremely explicit and have evaluations included. D. Elias is concerned how the candidate would feel about job security with terms. G. Yuhas feels it is unnecessary since D. Greenbaum has worked in Salem before. J. Schiller spoke to the Mayor. She was frustrated and extremely unhappy that the Board was moving forward with hiring a Health Agent. He said we need to be respectful to the process and out of courtesy inform the working group what we are doing. P. Kirby will speak to Cheryl Sbarra at MAHB for advice. G. Yuhas motioned to have a special meeting on Monday, 12/17/18 to discuss the selection of a candidate and details of the offer. K. Murphy 2nd. All in favor. Motion passed. 4. Discussion of Ordinance – E. Gagakis will contact City Solicitor Beth Rennard about the summary. Mandatory Recycling for Haulers M. Davis will post in the Salem News upon receipt of the summary. J. Schiller motioned to approve the minutes with correction to 5. Approval of Minutes remove B. Gerard as absent and list her as present. K. Murphy 2nd. All in favor. Motion passed. 6. Chairperson Communications P. Kirby distributed a syringe service program update. The program seems to be working well. 7. Monthly Reports-Updates a. Public Health Nurse’s Report S. Darmody reported that nurse coverage is all set up for her maternity leave. The public health nurse from Beverly will cover for her. The Quincy Health Dept. is no longer offering the $75.00 skin course for body artists. Practitioners will now need a college anatomy & physiology course that could cost about $1,000.00. The Quincy public health nurse offered to share her materials so other nurses could learn to teach the course. S. Darmody suggested we revisit the body art regulations when she returns from maternity leave. Copy available at the BOH office. b. Health Agent’s E. Gagakis reported that students from Harvard have developed a tool that Report allows all departments to see what is happening with problem properties. She met with the Salem High School internship program director. The Department will host an intern for the spring semester. We suggested a student interested in health, not just a clerical intern. There are issues with short term rentals/air bnbs. For privacy reasons we can’t keep names and dates of all the renters. There is a short-term rentals ordinance going into effect in April which will give the City Solicitor, the Building Department and the Health Department better ways to be able to enforce it. There will be some zoning restrictions in the ordinance as well. Copy available at the BOH office. c. Administrative Copy available at the BOH office. Report d. City Council B. Gerard not present. Liaison Updates K. Murphy motioned to approve the reports. J. Schiller 2nd. All in favor. Motion passed. MEETING ADJOURNED: K. Murphy motioned to adjourn. J. Schiller 2nd. All in favor. Motion passed. 9:08pm Respectfully submitted, Maureen Davis Clerk of the Board Next scheduled meeting is a special meeting on Monday, December 17, 2018 at 7:00pm At City Hall Annex, 98 Washington Street, 1st Floor, Salem, MA