DUKES COUNTY HEALTH COUNCIL
Thursday, November 30, 2006 Meeting Minutes
West Tisbury Public Safety Building
CALL TO ORDER
Chairman Cindy Mitchell called the meeting to order at 7:30 AM and determined that a quorum was present. Attendees included: Susan Wasserman, Ron MacLaren, Jo Ann Murphy, Dedie Wieler, Paddy Moore, Olga Church, Judie Flanders, Terry Appenzellar, Cindy Doyle, Jacque Cage, Chris Knowles, Anna Markwica, Sarah Kuh, Michele Lazerow, Antonio Teixeira, Tom Bennett, James Weiss, Bob Tonti, Tad Crawford, S. Pat Donegan, Julia Burgess, Judy Foley, Henrietta McElheny, and Jennifer Caton, Executive Assistant to record minutes.
NEXT MEETING:
The next meeting was set for January 25, 2007.
TREASURER’S REPORT:
Terry Appenzellar gave the Treasurer’s report.
It was Moved from the floor to approve the Treasurer’s Report, So Voted, unanimous.
Final Approval of Health Council Fund Raising Policy and Procedures
Paddy Moore expressed concern that the Coordinating Committee was not addressing communication with the full Health Council.
Cindy Mitchell suggested a standing item on the agenda to share funding, grant opportunities, and intentions.
It was Moved from the floor to have a standing item on the agenda to share funding, grant opportunities, and intentions, So Voted, unanimous.
It was Moved from the floor to accept the Health Council Fund Raising Policy and Procedure, So Voted, unanimous.
There was some discussion regarding the legal standing of nonprofit spin-offs. One question raised was whether they were official members or not. If they were not members, was there a process in which they could become members of the Health Council. The second question raised was regarding spin offs changing their legal status, does it affect the organization's membership within the Health Council. It was concluded that there was no process that addressed spin-offs. It would be discussed further at another time.
Health Council Committee/Programs and Issues Reports/ Updates
Nominating Committee:
Cindy Mitchell asked for volunteers to serve on the Nominating Committee.
Tad Crawford currently serves on the Committee and would continue to serve. Chris Knowles said he would remain on the Committee but could no be the Chairman. Julia Burgess and Michele Lazerow volunteered to serve on the Committee.
Rural Health Network Development Planning:
Paddy Moore gave a brief report explaining the decision to concentrate on building relationships between the Island agencies and health care providers. She said there was a focus on how the medical records could be shared by Island health care providers, while still operating within the law, meeting individuals’ needs, and being practical.
UMass Clerkship Report:
Olga Church provided a brief report on the screening tools the students developed during their clerkship. She also announced that Murray Frank would be leaving the Island. She said a Clerkship Committee needed to be formed. Olga Church and Dedie Wieler had volunteered to serve on the Committee. Ron MacLaren, Rhonda Cohen, Cindy Mitchell, Thomas Bennett, and Nancy Gilfoy would also serve on the Committee.
Vineyard Health Care Access Program – Vineyard Smiles Program:
Cindy Mitchell introduced Judy Foley, who works for the Oral Health Foundation. She explained the Oral Health Foundation funded the three-year implementation of Vineyard Smiles. She also introduced Henrietta, McElheny, who is the coordinator of Vineyard Smiles Program.
Sarah Kuh gave a history of the cooperative efforts with the Vineyard Health Care Access Program and the Oral Health Foundation in implementing the Vineyard Smiles Program. The Vineyard Smiles Program is a portable dentist program, which focuses on children having access to dental care. The portable dentist had provided services to children at Head Start. They are now visiting the Island’s elementary schools. Sarah explained that children are taken out of the classrooms, go to the nurse's office, and receive an examination and a cleaning.
There was discussion regarding the possibility of extending the program to serve preschoolers and high school students. There was also a brief discussion regarding the accessibility of the dental records to the parents. It was stated that there is a record of the visit kept in the child’s file in the school nurse’s office.
MVCS- “Integrating Service for Substance Abuse, Domestic Violence and Mental Health” Conference Report:
Julia Burgess reported that they had a very successful conference. The conference was dedicated to the integration of mental health services and prevention domestic violence. She said it far exceeded expectations. The conference allowed health care providers to receive training, and an opportunity for networking. She said the conference would be on an ongoing basis.
There was a discussion regarding the shortage of mental health practitioners on the Island. It was mentioned that the labor pool needed to be enhanced. It is not necessarily a problem with resources and funding but a shortage of labor. It was said that it's a challenge the whole Island faces.
Paddy Moore suggested that Work Force Development be a future agenda item.
Many Council members expressed, that they wanted to formally recognize Murray Frank’s work on the UMass clerkship program.
Cindy Doyle/Thomas Bennett Moved to rename the, UMass Clerkship Program to the Murray Frank Clerkship Program, So Voted, unanimous.
Mental Health/Substance Abuse Committee Update:
Tom provided a brief report. He reported that Bryan Sylvester from the Department of Public Health was getting involved. He also mentioned that their Committee is reviewing their mission statement.
Martha Vineyard Health Conditions and Health Status Report Update:
Cindy Mitchell read a letter regarding the Health Status Report, she received from Dianne Becker and Charlie Silverstein. She passed out copy of the report. She said that a complete copy could be downloaded from the Vineyard Gazette website.
Cindy Doyle/Tad Crawford Moved for someone to contact Charlie Silverstein to ask for permission to put the Health Status Report on the Dukes County website.
Susan Wasserman pointed out that there was some controversy about some of the data. She suggested waiting to see if the controversy could be resolved.
Cindy Mitchell suggested deferring and tabling the motion until the January meeting.
Other Business/Announcements
James Weiss announced that the speaker Mel Levine would be giving a presentation on January 6th.
Cindy Mitchell asked Tad Crawford how the Health Council could have input to the Charter Study Commission.
Tad Crawford said the initiative should come from the Health Council. He added that all of the meetings would be open to public.
ADJOURNMENT: Cindy Mitchell adjourned the meeting at 9:35
Respectfully submitted,
Jennifer Caton
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