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HomeMy Public PortalAbout20211115 - Board of Health - Meeting MinutesHEALTH DEPARTMENT Town of Hopkinton, Massachusetts Monday, November 15, 2021 MINUTES Members Present:Elizabeth “Lisa” Whittemore, Dr.Richard Jacobs and Regina Miloslavsky Also Present:Shaun McAuliffe, Health Director; Simone Carter, Public Health Nurse Absent: Late Arrival(s): Early Dismissal: The meeting was called to order at 5:30 p.m. by Chairman Whittemore. Ms. LaRoche announced the “Script for Remotely Conducted Open Meetings” guidelines. Members and participants role call for attendance: Elizabeth “Lisa” Whittemore-Yes Dr. Richard Jacobs-Yes Regina Miloslavsky-Yes Shaun McAuliffe-Yes Simone Carter-Yes Public Comment-Members of the community are invited to share ideas, state opinions or ask questions Request to Approve Meeting Minutes of Novembre 1, 2021 Ms. LaRoche requested the Board’s approval for the meeting minutes of November 1, 2021. Vice Chairman Jacobs, informed Ms. LaRoche that his statement on page. 2 paragraph 2 is inaccurate and stated that the current statement be deleted and insert the email verison that he forward to her. Ms. LaRoche acknowledged the error and proceeded to read the corrected rendition that will be inserted: “Vice Chairman Jacobs stated that a vote of the Board to determine support of the Health Director was not possible at the last board meeting because it was not on the Board of Health’s agenda. That is why it is for discussion and vote today.” Mr. McAuliffe also noted that his name was spelled incorrectly in a few places. Ms. LaRoche acknowledged the corrections. Vice Chairman Jacobs motioned to approve the meeting minutes of November 1, 2021 with the amendments as stated. Ms.Miloslavsky seconded. Chairman Whittemore-Yes, Vice Chairman Jacobs-Yes, Ms. Miloslavsky-Yes. All in favor. Department’s October 2021 (FY22) Budget Summary Ms. LaRoche presented the department’s October 2021 budget expense summary. She stated that the remaining amount in the operating budget is $46, 044.25 to be expended by June 30, 2022. BOH November 15, 2021-MEETING Minutes Page 1 Approved November 29, 2021 Discussion of Creating a 53 ½ Expense Account Mr. McAuliffe requested that the Board consider the creation of a 53 ½ expense account for the Department. He noted that the department has been rapidly expanding it’s community EMS program, the amount and type of vaccinations, other types of care that the department is offering and it has become evident that the department needs to establish a 53 ½ expense account. In doing so, the department will submit a warrant article that will be presented at the Annual Town Meeting for a vote. This account will be considered a revolving revenue account for the state’s and federal governments vaccine reimbursements and services that the department is currently providing. The account will be utilized to cover the cost of per diem rate for firefighters, EMT’s, nurses’, vaccines that are ordered and any other associated cost referred to in the article. Ms. Miloslavsky motioned to support the creation of a 53½Expense Account for the Health Department and to place it on the Town’s Warrant for the Annual Town Meeting, as discussed. Vice Chairman Jacobs seconded. Role Call: Chairman Whittemore-Yes, Vice Chairman Jacobs-Yes, Ms. Miloslavsky-Yes. Mr. McAuliffe noted that the Board will have the article language for them to approve at the Board’s November 29, 2021 meeting. Preliminary Discussion of 2023 Budget Mr. McAuliffe noted that the proposed budget for FY2023 does not take into consideration the salary review that the Human Resources is undergoing right now for the department. He just met with the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) prior to this meeting and said that the entire proposed budget will be submitted for discussion and review tomorrow with the Town Manager and CFO. Mr. McAuliffe informed the Board that the Salaries line item in the amount of $23,272.17 under the Inflationary Columum is the difference in salary for the Public Health Nurse and part of the Health Services initial pay that was being paid by the Cares Act. The department will now be capturing their full costs of salaries in the FY2023 budget. The Legal Sped line item has been deleted from the proposed budget since the Town pays for any legal services that the department needs. The department has requested an increase to the Medical Services line item in the added amount of $9,200.00 for a grand total of $35,000. Most of the expenses incurred under that line item will be reimbursed and placed into the revolving fund. The rest of the budget line items will remain the same. Mr. McAuliffe pointed out that due to the absorption of the Public Health Nurse and the Health Services Agent’s full salaires, it places the department’s increased percentage at 8.52% instead of the 3.25% as requested from the Select Board and the Town Manager’s budget message. Mr. McAuliffe stated that in speaking with the CFO he noted that the 8.52% of an increase would not be an issue. Chairman Whittmore confirmed that Mr. McAuliffe will update the Board after his meeting with the Town Manager and asked if the salary adjustments will be separate and apart from the proposed salaries shown here. Mr. McAuliffe confirmed that he will update the Board in regards to his meeting with the Town Manager and also noted that the salary figures shown on the proposed budget only reflects a 3% salary increase for now. The proposed FY2023 budget will be submitted at the Board’s next meeting for their BOH November 15, 2021-MEETING Minutes Page 2 Approved November 29, 2021 vote and assumes that when the salary adjustments for the department’s staff is completed the budget will be adjusted. Mr. McAuliffe acknowledged that this is the first time that he and the CFO actually sat down and had enough time to fully discuss the budget and work it through for tomorrow’s meeting with the Town Manager. Chairman Whittemore congratulated Mr. McAuliffe, Simone and the rest of the Team for last weeks’ Pediatrics Clinic. She stated that it was unbelievable to see everything run so smoothly. Coronavirus Update & Director’s Report Mr. McAuliffe updated and informed the Board of the following items: Public Health Nurse / Programming - A.The Department would like to thank Haley Ferrin, our latest intern from Worcester State’s nursing program, for assisting Simone and Kacey with our Pediatric Booster Clinic. Haley was able to successfully recruit 6 additional Worcester State Nursing students to assist with our pediatric clinic. Their contribution was invaluable. We are excited to continue this relationship into the future. B.The Public Health Nurses have been providing homebound flu and COVID-19 boosters. Last week we learned that the MDPH’s rapid response team (RRT) was out vaccinating seniors and homebound patients throughout the region. C.The Public Health Nurses hosted a Pfizer booster clinic on November 5, 2021 at the Marathon School. The clinic provided Pfizer boosters and a limited number of flu shots for the Hopkinton teachers. D.The Public Health, School Nurses and Hopkinton FD hosted a pediatric Pfizer first dose clinic for the 5-11 year olds at the Middle School gymnasium on November 11, 2021. We vaccinated 888 individuals. The clinic was covered by Fox News Boston and NBC10 Boston. E.NPR provided local and national coverage of our COVID-19 program management and offramping trial. The story drew an interesting array of opinions. Today, a New England COVID-19 Task Force contacted the Department. Vaping/Tobacco – The MetroWest Adolescent Health Survey is scheduled this month. Historic survey results are what the Department utilized to develop the 3-Tiered Vaping program in the School District. MRC / Clinic Activity –Representatives of the MDPH will be working with us to improve our MRC. The MPDH congratulated us on our local clinic's success. Grants - The Department is exploring additional funding opportunities to offset the costs of clinic operation. Operational Summary - I have to report to Federal Grand Jury Duty on 11/16/21. COVID-19 - The MDPH has reported 272 new cases to the Department since 08/01/21. 23 of the cases are active. Our two week positivity rate decreased slightly from 1.88 on 11/4 to 1.85 on 11/11. Our average case per day is at 2.54, slightly below last week’s number of 2.58. Our 2-week case count dipped slightly from 32 cases to 29. The bulk of our cases over the last two weeks are between unvaccinated children and the 50-64 year old age group. Common sources of illness include travel, gatherings and work-related exposures. BOH November 15, 2021-MEETING Minutes Page 3 Approved November 29, 2021 We have identified a growing cluster in one of the elementary schools. I will be issuing a request that the children in one particular class obtain PCR tests. Children testing will be permitted to participate in test and stay. Through our clinic and local efforts, we continue to see a significant increase in our vaccination rates. The MIIS database reports that 13,960 of our residents are fully vaccinated. 2,647 are reported to have received their first shot. I have sought clarification if this is related to boosters administered or boosters and pediatrics. We are in the process of providing Pfizer boosters, planning additional pediatric Pfizer clinics for 5-11 year olds, Pfizer boosters for Hopkinton residents and teachers and Moderna booster clinics for our first responders, DPW employees and other eligible front line staff. Simone Carter is invited to elaborate if she is present. The MDPH reports the following: Town Age Group Population Proportion of town population Individuals with at least one dose Individuals with at least one dose per capita Fully vaccinated individuals Fully vaccinated individuals per capita Hopkinton 05-11 Years 1,558 10%129 8%0 0% Hopkinton 12-15 Years 1,116 7%1,206 >95%1,109 >95% Hopkinton 16-19 Years 987 6%1,112 >95%1,045 >95% Hopkinton 20-29 Years 1,635 10%1,479 91%1,372 84% Hopkinton 30-49 Years 3,987 24%4,508 >95%4,188 >95% Hopkinton 50-64 Years 4,065 25%3,984 >95%3,726 92% Hopkinton 65-74 Years 1,426 9%1,514 >95%1,384 >95% Hopkinton 75+ Years 643 4%873 >95%768 >95% Hopkinton Total 16,382 100%14,676 92%13,592 83% We continue to communicate with the MDPH and participate in the weekly conference calls. We are encouraging our residents to utilize the local testing locations that have partnered with the Broad Institute in Cambridge. These locations tend to have a 12-hour turnaround on testing. BOH November 15, 2021-MEETING Minutes Page 4 Approved November 29, 2021 We continue to work closely with Golden Pond and Fairview Estates. We have assisted them in obtaining vaccinations for their newest residents and testing when warranted. We continue to support the efforts of the School District and other municipal offices. ADJOURN: Chairman Whittemore motioned to adjourn the Board of Health Meeting at 6:12 p.m. Vice Chairman Jacobs seconded. Role Call: Chairman Whittemore-Yes, Vice Chairman Jacobs-Yes, Ms. Miloslavsky-Yes. Respectfully Submitted, Nidia LaRoche Administrative Assistant BOH November 15, 2021-MEETING Minutes Page 5 Approved November 29, 2021