NOTES
DUKES COUNTY HEALTH COUNCIL
February 26, 2004 Meeting
West Tisbury Public Safety Building
CALL TO ORDER
Chairman Tad Crawford took a quorum count at 7:39 a.m. Only 14 members were in attendance. Fifteen constitutes a quorum. The meeting could not be held, but the participants remained for a conversation. In addition to Tad, those attending were Cathy Brennan, Jacque Cage, Michele Lazerow, Mary Jane O’Conner-Ropp, Lorna Andrade, Jane Cleare, Marni Lipke, Paddy Moore, Sarah Greensburg, Jo Ann Murphy, Kathleen Rose, Cynthia Mitchell and Leslie Leland. Also attending were Dukes County Manager E. Winn Davis and Dukes County Executive Assistant Brian S. Kinal, who took these notes. Absent were council members Michael Dutton, Susan Desmarais, Peter Strock, Chris Knowles, Elaine Pace, Fred Rundlet, Tim Walsh, Ned Robinson-Lynch, Charles Silberstein, Nancy Gilfoy, Ilene
Klein, and Bob Tonti.
Cathy Brennan, Chair of the Nominating Committee, announced that Frank Case, Melinda Loberg and Kathy Logue are no longer on the Council, their terms having expired. She suggested sending them letters of appreciation for their service.
Council Chairman Tad Crawford praised County Manager E. Winn Davis for his regular attendance at meetings. Tad said it was “unprecedented” for the County Manager to attend regularly.
Tad reported that the handover of the financial books from outgoing treasurer Kathy Logue to Terry Appenzellar, a new member of the Council, is proceeding smoothly.
Tad thanked Cathy Brennan for her outstanding work as Chair of the Nominating Committee. He said it was not an easy job and Cathy literally “hit the decks running” at the beginning of January.
Paddy Moore gave an update on Volume I of the Martha’s Vineyard Health Report, which will be released soon. Paddy then described the next phase of the MV Health Report, the preparation of Volume II, which will contain a “Blueprint for Action” so that public health problems can not only be identified but also addressed.
Tad said that, along with the work undertaken to produce Volume II, the Council needs to undertake the development of selected “Key Public Health Indicators.” Tad said that “there are gaping holes” in Dukes County’s data, making it difficult to compare Dukes County to other counties.
Paddy concurred, adding more data is needed about the health status of families and children.
Cathy Brennan, the Chair of the Wellness and Prevention Committee, said the committee did not accomplish as much in 2003 as in 2002. She said the committee in 2004 wants to propose an appropriate structure for integrating public health services with the care of individuals in a manner that ensures that preventable illnesses such as tick borne disease and chronic conditions like depression and alcohol abuse are properly addressed.
Jacque Cage gave a report on the activities of the Geriatric Access Committee. Jacque described the Resource Locator, a web-based regional directory of health providers and services that is operated on our behalf by Barnstable County’s Health and Human Services Department.
Jacque reported on the recent Lighthouse retreat that she, Tad Crawford, Ilene Klein and Cindy Mitchell attended. She said the dialogue was similar to the Health Council’s, in terms of our commitment to access and the funding of health care for the un- and under-insured. In that context, she said the retreat tried to come up with a definition of primary care, which is very similar in concept to what the Council has been working on. Jacque said the Lighthouse is seeking to determine what role it should play beyond Year 4 of the CAP grant, given its success in raising funds that would not be available to us in the absence of regional collaboration. She also spoke to the importance of recognizing the significant differences that exist between the Cape and the
Islands when considering implementation strategies for improving access.
Tad noted that funding sources want to see regional collaboration.
Cynthia Mitchell said Island Health Plan has received a $15,000 planning grant from Blue Cross to assess the needs of the non-English speaking population.
Tad said the Council’s FY-05 budget proposal is about to be submitted. He said the County Manager asked for two versions – a zero-based budget not to exceed the FY-04 budget, and a recommended budget reflecting needed increases. Tad said the FY-05 recommendation is for an additional $5,000, of which $4,000 will go toward analytical support needed to produce Volume II of the M.V. Health Report and the development of “Key Health Indicators” for Dukes County. The Council has offered to pledge $2,000 from the current budget for Volume I of the Health Report, he said, subject to the full Council’s endorsement.
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