DUKES COUNTY HEALTH COUNCIL
Minutes
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Call to order
Dedie Wieler, Chair, called the meeting to order at 7:30AM.
Attendees included: Tom Bennett, Julia Burgess, Jacque Cage, Sharon Claus Zanger, Tad Crawford, Valerio DeStefani, Chris Knowles, Sarah Kuh, Rex Jarrell, Bobbi Lima, Ron MacLaren, Cathryn Mancuso, Patsy McCornack, Karen Meeks, Cynthia Mitchell, Paddy Moore, JoAnn Murphy, Domingo Pagan, Gayle Poggi, Oceana Rames,
Connie Teixeria, Bob Tonti, James Weiss, Dedie Wieler, Terre Young
Vote to approve the Minutes of the April 30, 2009 meeting: Moved and seconded; minutes approved.
New members were welcomed and Council members introduced themselves.
Treasurer Report: Julia Burgess: Julia has e-mailed a request to the commissioners for our funding to be moved to the Access program. She is certain they are moving forward as Russell offered at his last meeting. We will have $4000. in next year’s budget. The Council needs to create good plans for using this money. Committees could start working and planning now for their budgets, making sure that the spending plan is in sink with the work plan.
Coordinating Committee: Elections were held this morning. Karen Meeks is stepping down from this committee and there are eight candidates for seven positions. The first ballot count offered a tie between two candidates and the counters elected to take the two lowest electorates and create a new ballot with four hopefuls. The second count offered another tie between two different people and the consensus is that the council is comfortable with eight Coordinating Committee members. A proposal will be made in writing to the council offering language to change the by-laws regarding the number of CC members and to create solutions for tie-breaker situations.
Youth Task Force: Rex Jarrell: Rex offered an excellent update highlighting the media campaign in the Middle and high schools. The campaign has a focus on social norms with an intention to change perceptions with students around alcohol and drug use. They are covering the community with as much positive information as possible.
Rural Scholars: Patsy McCornack: Patsy outlined the challenge and successes of last year’s med student’s project. The greatest success being the Round Table discussions explained later in these minutes. Patsy has been in touch with the Med school’s program director and a group would like to come back to the island again this fall. Patsy’s challenge to all Health Council members is to go back to your committees and come up with a project for these students. Your project can be focused on anything and the entire council votes on the final project for the students.
Round Table: Jacquie Cage: Jacquie explained two direct results of last year’s rural scholars’ work with the Elder Affairs committee. The first is the invitation of round table discussions between the town’s councils on aging and a wider group of providers to attend and address issues of service coordination, and to understand what the public knows and needs. The second is the new name for the island council on aging to the MV Center for living, steering the focus away from old age……..
Dedie invited the council members to tour the new hospital. If you missed this meeting and would like to be included, please give Dedie a call.
As chairman of this council, Dedie invited a consensus to send a letter of support for the Department of Mental health and the hospital to undertake a complicated land swap. DMH and Community Services have developed an island program and DMH would establish this program in the more advantageous building owned by the hospital. A concern was raised relative to mold issues in the building and Julia B. assured us that they are well aware of the issues and renovations will certainly be made before occupancy. The consensus was in support of writing the letter.
The next Dukes County Health Council meeting will be at 7:30 Thursday, June 25th at the West Tisbury Public Safety room.
Dedie adjourned the meeting at 9:03AM. Respectfully submitted, Terre D. Young
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