Board of Health

Approved 3/14/19 BOARD OF HEALTH ` BOROUGH OF TENAFLY, NEW JERSEY BOARD MEETING, January 22, 2019 The meeting of the Board of Health was held on the above date. Mr. Howard Bader, 2018 Board of Health President, read the Board’s compliance with the Open Public Meeting Law and called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. The following members were present: Howard Bader Dr. Etta Frankel Dr. Daniel Feit Dr. Michael Basista Maria Xylas Berton Greenberg Absent: Mark Alvarez Also present: Mayor Peter Rustin Council Liaison Lauren Dayton Sam Yanovich, Health Officer Ruby Parra, Registered Environmental Health Specialist Valerie Nicolosi, Board of Health Secretary OATHS OF OFFICE Mayor Peter Rustin administered the Oath of Office to the following individuals into their respective positions: Berton L. Greenberg, PhD, Member, Tenafly Board of Health Lauren Dayton, Council Representative, Tenafly Board of Health ELECTION OF OFFICERS FOR 2019 Nominations for President: A motion was made and seconded to nominate Mr. Howard Bader as President of the Tenafly Board of Health. There being no further nominations, the nominations were closed. A voice vote carried the motion unanimously. Mr. Bader is the President of the 2019 Tenafly Board of Health. Nominations for Vice President: A motion was made and seconded to nominate Dr. Etta Frankel as Vice President of the Tenafly Board of Health. There being no further nominations, the nominations were closed. A voice vote carried unanimously. Dr. Frankel is the Vice President of the 2019 Tenafly Board of Health. Appointment of Secretary to the Board: A motion was made and seconded to appoint Mrs. Valerie Nicolosi as the Secretary to the Board of Health. A voice vote carried unanimously. Mrs. Nicolosi is the Secretary to the 2019 Tenafly Board of Health. Approved 3/14/19 Tenafly Board of Health January 22, 2019 Page 2 Mayor Rustin thanked all board members and professionals for their service on and to the Tenafly Board of Health. He is hopeful to have the Board of Health take a more active role in participation as a stigma free community and to have the Mayors Wellness Campaign active once again. He will work with Mrs. Nicolosi in the management of these programs. Mayor Rustin has some questions for Mr. Yanovich regarding the public recreational bathing code and the temporary waiver the state is granting (this was reported in the Health Officer monthly report). His questions were answered. Mayor Rustin requested that Health Inspector Ruby Parra send letters to all facilities with swimming pools explaining the code. A motion was made to approve the minutes of November 1, 2018. A voice vote carried the motion. All voted in favor; none were opposed. Councilwoman Dayton advised the board members that the Mayor & Council is looking to obtain a construction easement for upgrades to Parking Lot “0” located behind stores on Washington Street to improve recycling and garbage collection. Businesses need to be advised exactly how and where to place these items to keep the area behind Washington Street clean. Councilwoman Dayton also indicated that the Mayor & Council will be budgeting for a one-arm recycling program, which would include the trucks and cans for each household. Each sturdy recycling can will be equipped with a scanner to enable the Borough to track when recycling has been collected. This program will take over a year to come to fruition. It was noted that the Borough has gone out to bid for garbage collection. The present contract for rear yard pickup will expire shortly. OLD BUSINESS Mrs. Nicolosi gave a brief overview of the 2019 Budget which was submitted to the Mayor & Council for approval. Board members had previously received a copy of the budget for review. After much discussion, a motion was made and seconded to approve the proposed 2019 Board of Health budget and one-year contracts for HARP (Hackensack Awareness Regional Program), Mid-Bergen Regional Health Commission and Cooper Pest Solutions. A voice vote carried the motion. All voted in favor: none were opposed. Mrs. Xylas reported that she had received a letter from SUEZ regarding lead levels in water in residential homes. There was concern regarding lead levels in the water at local businesses. It was suggested that Lindsay Graham, who sends out the applications for business licenses for the Borough, send a letter outlining the issue. The board would also like to see an article in the upcoming newsletter with information from SUEZ regarding the lead matter. Mrs. Nicolosi will advise Borough Administrator/Borough Clerk Lissette Aportela of the board’s wishes. Approved 3/14/19 Tenafly Board of Health January 22, 2019 Page 3 REPORTS OF STAFF Mr. Sam Yanovich, Health Officer, reviewed his January 2019 report. Board members had received this report via email. Influenza 2019 The State report from 1/12/19 indicates a high level of influenza activity through all regions. A new study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases suggests that flu vaccine effectiveness may begin dropping within weeks of administration. Therefore, people could be less protected during the height of flu season if they get vaccinated at the beginning of September. According to the study, the risk of contracting flu climbs about 16% for every twenty-eight (28) days after vaccination. Experts warn that changing the timing recommendation to later in the season is a complicated endeavor. The board had an extensive conversation regarding this matter. It was noted that the flu clinic in Tenafly last year was October 5th. It is usually held the end of September or early October. It was suggested that the Board of Health direct the CVS pharmacy in the Borough to not give out flu shots too early. This is most likely not possible. Health Plus Ambulatory Surgery Center Mr. Yanovich explained the infection control breaches during procedures at Health Plus Ambulatory Surgery Center from January 1, 2018-September 7, 2018. The center has offered testing free of charge for Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and HIV. The majority of these patients are New York residents. One hundred thirty (130) patients are Bergen County residents. The breaches included inappropriate sterilization and disinfection of tools and equipment and lack of basic injection safety practices. Although the risk of infection was theorized to be low, as a precaution, the notifications to get tested were sent. The apparent lag time in getting patient notifications out sooner according to the State (i.e., notices were not sent out until December 12) was attributed to determining which patients had a procedure and/or injection. Lead Poisoning As expected, the number of lead burdened children aged six (6) months to six (6) years has increased as the stricter State standard was imposed at the end of 2016. Mid Bergen’s jurisdictions saw twelve (12) cases in 2018 as compared to seven (7) in 2016. There was one (1) case in Tenafly in 2018. Mr. Yanovich indicated that there was a bat found in a Tenafly home today and it was sent to a lab for testing. Mrs. Nicolosi was concerned that the Borough would be charged for the testing. Mr. Yanovich didn’t think this would be the case. Communications Exercise A State exercise will be conducted by the NJDOH in February. This will afford health departments the opportunity to evaluate their risk communication plan in response to a public health threat. It will also help us create public information and public health prevention messages for a public health threat. Approved 3/14/19 Tenafly Board of Health January 22, 2019 Page 4 Ms. Parra, Registered Environmental Health Specialist, reviewed her report which covered November 2, 2018 to January 15, 2019. Many inspections were done at numerous food establishments. Fifteen (15) food establishments received satisfactory ratings. Two (2) food establishments received Conditional ratings. Some of the problems with food establishments involve leaking ceilings. She contacted the landlords to suggest that the roof be repaired/replaced. She did an inspection and the pool year-round checklist review for two (2) pools, which both were given a satisfactory rating. There were two (2) dog bites reported and confinement was conducted for these licensed animals. One cat exposure (an unlicensed animal) was taken to Bergen County Animal Shelter. One dog exposure was reported but the animal license couldn’t be identified since the exposed person didn’t want to provide information. During this period she had a request for a bat rabies examination. The exposed person was advised to take medical treatment. It was noted that this was not the bat previously discussed. Ms. Parra reviewed the numerous complaints outlined in her report. Complaints varied from unsanitary conditions near dumpsters, concern that a restaurant may be selling leftover food, odors emitting from a food establishment, mold in ice makers, and strange smells in an area near large residential development. Ms. Parra investigated all complaints. Councilwoman Dayton indicated that she is the Chamber of Commerce liaison and as such, there are many concerns among business owners that vacant stores are left in unsanitary conditions. Realtors complain that they are unable to rent these places. Ms. Parra is limited in her ability to enforce any regulations due to state requirements. The Borough’s Code Enforcement officer(s) may be able to help with this situation. She also indicated that there were many food establishments not listed in Ms. Parra’s report which she feels should be failing inspections. It was noted that this report covered only those food establishments visited by Ms. Parra in the past 2 ½ months. Inspections of all food establishments are done at some point throughout the year. Mrs. Dayton was advised to notify Ms. Parra or Mrs. Nicolosi via email if she had concerns about any restaurant/food establishment in particular. Councilwoman Dayton would like Building Department staff/Code Enforcement Officers to submit a monthly report to the Board of Health in the same manner as Ms. Parra. Mrs. Nicolosi offered that a meeting with those individuals as well as the Borough Administrator could be held to discuss this suggestion. NEW BUSINESS There will be a “CPR Friends & Family Program on Friday, February, 15, 2019 at the Tenafly Senior Center at 2:00 p.m. This program is presented through HARP. Approved 3/14/19 Tenafly Board of Health January 22, 2019 Page 5 There will be a “Sleep & Aging” presentation on Monday, March 18, 2019, at 10:00 a.m. at the Library. This is part of the HARP Visiting Nurse Series of the Mayor’s Wellness Campaign. The Adult Health & Wellness Program Schedule run by our HARP Nursing Staff has been amended slightly. Flyers are posted in Borough Hall and have been distributed to the Senior Center as well as the Library. This information is on the Borough website as well. The next meeting of the Board of Health is Thursday, March 14, 2019, at 7:30 p.m. in the Richard D. Wilson Committee Room. There was a decision to change the Thursday, June 20, 2019 to Thursday, June 13, 2019. Mrs. Nicolosi will handle the notifications and update the 2019 Meeting Schedule. A motion was made and seconded to adjourn the meeting at 8:55 p.m. A voice vote carried the motion. All voted in favor of the motion; none were opposed. Respectfully submitted, Valerie B. Nicolosi Board of Health Secretary