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HomeMy Public PortalAbout20210104 - Board of Health - Meeting Minutes HEALTH DEPARTMENT Town of Hopkinton, Massachusetts REMOTE MEETING Monday, January 4, 2021 MINUTES Members Present: Chairman Whittemore, Vice Chairman Jacobs and Mr. King Also Present:Shaun McAuliffe, Health Director; Kasey Mauro, Public Health Nurse Absent: Late Arrival(s): Early Dismissal: The meeting was called to order at 5:31p.m. by Chairman Whittemore. Ms. LaRoche announced the “Script for Remotely Conducted Open Meetings” guidelines (attached). Members and participants role call for attendance: Chairman Whittemore-Yes Vice Chairman Jacobs-Yes Mr. King-Yes Shaun McAuliffe-Yes Kasey Mauro-Yes Nidia LaRoche-Yes Public Comment- ​Members of the community are invited to share ideas, state opinions or ask questions Request to Approve Board’s Meeting Minutes of December 14, 2020 Ms. LaRoche requested the Board’s approval for the meeting minutes of December 14, 2020. Vice Chairman Jacobs motioned to approve the minutes of December 14, 2020, as presented. Mr. King seconded. Roll Call Vote: Chairman Whittemore-Yes, Vice Chairman Jacobs-Yes, Mr. King-Yes. Request to Review/Approve the Department’s 2020 Annual Town Report Narrative Mr. McAuliffe requested that his item be placed on the Board’s meeting of January 25, 2021 due to the fact that he has not had the chance to review or complete the narrative due to the increase of COVID 19 cases. The Board agreed to place the item at the Board’s January 25, 2021, as requested. Conflict of Interest Law Summary, Acknowledgement & On-Line Training Ms. LaRoche requested that the Conflict of Interest Law Summary acknowledgement signature page and the on-line State Ethics training certificate both be emailed to her directly. She requested that the items be submitted no later than January 7th since they are due into the Human Resources Department on January 8th. HealthTrac Attestation Application BOH January 4, 2021-REMOTE MEETING Minutes Page ​1 Approved January 25, 2021 Mr. McAuliffe informed the Board that the program was disseminated and people are now getting familiar with it. Approximately, 500 individuals are using the application; an estimated 11% of school parents and 16% of school teachers are using the tool but would like to see 100% participation in both parents and teachers. He noted that the Department has already detected and stopped 2 infected individuals from spreading virus at the schools. Health Department and School Partnership Chairman Whittemore noted that she received 2 calls last week concerning the distribution of the HealthTrac Attestation notification and enforcement of attestation in the Schools. These individuals stated that they did not receive the school’s communication of the HealthTrac Application in December and were inquiring with the Department as to why they had not received the required information . In addition, they questioned why doesn’t the Board of Health compel the Schools to use attestation. Chairman Whittemore stated in an email to both persons, which were shared with Mr. McAuliffe and Ms. Mauro, that the School Administration is responsible for the dissemination and communication of the HealthTrac Attestation Application to all school personnel and school parents and that the Health Department is responsible for the follow-up of positive COVID19 cases. She also explained that the health department is greatly understaffed and does not have the resources to take upon extra duties. She further explained that the Board of Health nor Town Government has the authority to oblige the Schools to use attestation. They are governed by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). Chairman Whittemore stated that since this transmission was shared, Mr. McAuliffe met with Carol Cavanaugh and Katherin Bane last week to discuss the communication responsibilities of each department. The health department and the school administration will meet jointly to discuss improving communications, if needed in the future. Mr. McAuliffe stated that this device is voluntary for the Schools to use but it is strongly recommended, by the department, to use the software to reduce the virus risk at the Schools. Violations of Governor’s Orders and Administrative Actions Mr. McAuliffe informed the Board that 90% of business and residents are complying with the Governor’s COVID19 Orders; however, there is one business and a family that have violated the Orders. The Department has engaged the business on several occasions to educate and recommend compliance and has been met with belligerent behavior from the attendant who continues to violate the face covering order. The latest complaint was registered with the department this afternoon. The Department of Labor has also reached out to the business owner regarding the violation and to date there is still no compliance. Mr. McAuliffe requested the Board’s direction as to move forward with a fine per the Governor’s Order, under the penalty for violators procedure and structure, or continue with the Department’s administrative actions. Chairman Whittemore suggested fining the business for blatantly violating the Governor’s Orders, the Department’s enforcement and the Department of Labor Standards directives and asked for Vice Chairman Jacobs and Mr. King’s comments. Both Vice Chairman Jacobs and Mr. King voiced their concerns of the business not following the Governor’s Orders, the Health Department and the Department of Labor Standards’ directives. They recommended that the business be fined. BOH January 4, 2021-REMOTE MEETING Minutes Page ​2 Approved January 25, 2021 A family in Town, who hosted a party, violated several of the Governor’s Orders, starting with not informing the Health Department of the function as required, not wearing face coverings, having seven individuals contract COVID 19 from six different families who attended the party, not cooperating and misleading the investigation and not being forthright with the contact tracing nurses. Chairman Whittemore suggested continuing the education of the requirements and if it happens again then a fine would be issued. Chairman Whittemore requested Vice Chairman Jacobs and Mr. King’s comments. Both Vice Chairman Jacobs and Mr. King voiced their concerns with the family not adhering to the Governor’s Orders and endangering the community. They recommended that the family be fined. Chairman Whittemore, after taking note of Vice Chairman Jacob and Mr. King's statements, acquiesced to fining the family as stated. Regional Departures of Public Health Professionals Mr. McAuliffe informed the Board that the Framingham Health Director Sam Wong announced that he is leaving the Health Department due to not having the support of town officials and residents, being understaffed and pressures of COVID19 responsibilities have exhausted him and cannot continue to deteriorate his health in this manner. Mr. McAuliffe voiced that Mr. Wong will be sorely missed and leaves a significant void since he was the “go to” person for all new inspectors for guidance and much more. He also stated that the Ashland Health Director has retired, 3-4 health directors from various towns will also be leaving soon and further noted that a total of 15 communities are looking for either Health Agents or Health Directors and another 12 communities are looking for Public Health Nurses. Mr. McAuliffe informed the Board that this does not include the health directors, public health nurses or health agents that are retiring. He noted that most if not all of these public health professionals are leaving the profession entirely. Chairman Whittemore stated that she wanted this item to be placed on the agenda because she feels that it is very important to have the public and Town Officials understand the emotional and physical demands that are required to continue COVID19 responsibilities in an already stressful, understaffed and unsupported environment. She noted that she is very concerned with the increase of working hours that Mr. McAuliffe and Ms. Mauro continue to dedicate to this pandemic. Chairman Whittemore voiced her concern on the lack of resources and informed Mr. McAuliffe and Ms. Mauro to reach out for the Board’s support which they will advocate on their behalf if they feel the need to add additional staff to the department. Ms. Mauro informed the Board that both Julia and Richa, Contact Tracers, will be leaving soon to attend school and would like for those positions to be refilled. Chairman Whittemore and Mr. McAuliffe stated that they will meet with the Town Manager (acting H.R. Director) to request the rehire of these two positions. Vaccination Update Mr. McAuliffe apprised the Board that the Department received a request for an individual assessment of the town’s vaccination needs by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) for first responders. For thoses communities that do not have 200 first responders to vaccinate the MDPH has asked towns to establish a regional partnership. The Town of Hopkinton has partnered with the Towns BOH January 4, 2021-REMOTE MEETING Minutes Page ​3 Approved January 25, 2021 of Ashland, Westborough, Southborough and Sherborne to vaccinate all first responders once the vaccines are delivered at the Westborough Senior Center. Ms. Mauro advised the Board that the Department's role will be to document the vaccinations (documentation needs to be completed within 24hrs of vaccinating an individual) and will be able to activate the M.R.C. if they need additional personnel to help vaccinate. Once Phase 1 requirement is completed Phase 2 will take place in February. The department is waiting for the procedural vaccine instructions on how to proceed which she believes will be the same process as the flu vaccinations. Coronavirus & Director’s Reports: Mr. McAuliffe brief the Board of the following regarding COVID-19: Vaping/Tobacco ​– The new tobacco inspector will start inspections shortly. The counsel for the MAHB recommends that we welcome Olivia to our next meeting and recognize her as the new tobacco agent. Nursing – ​Kasey has exhausted her current supply of adult flu vaccines. Our per diem nursing staff are assisting with case management, attestation management and database review. They are doing a tremendous job. Grants ​- We just acquired a larger vaccine refrigerator and table-top freezer to expand our vaccine storage. DPH/MRC grant funding was utilized. Eversource​ - I am participating in Eversource’s monthly safety meetings, addressing COVID-19 risk. My next meeting is Wednesday. My efforts should reduce workplace illness. Ticks​ - I am trying to find the time to work with the Eagle Scout that will assist with the completion of the trail signage project. Pools, Outdoor Programing and Camp Inspections -​ We are working with the YMCA to provide Winter service alternatives for the residents of Hopkinton. Food Inspections - ​We just updated our Food Code Pro software and look forward to completing rapid, risk-based inspections this month. The software has been updated to include COVID-19 compliance items. Operational Summary ​- The Department continues to manage its core responsibilities, including the issuance of permits, inspections of well and septic installations and investigation of complaints. COVID-19​ - We continue to observe a significant increase in the number of cases in Town. We have had 295 total cases between September 21, 2020 and today. The majority of the spread has come from workplace exposures outside of Hopkinton. Those workplace exposures have resulted in spread within the home (2 -4 additional cases per home). There have been numerous cases associated with travel, sports (hockey) and extended family gatherings. We need to be mindful that every unnecessary outing is a potential exposure. As of 4:00 p.m. we have 435 total cases, 55 active, 363 recovered and 17 deaths. Our positivity rate was trending downward from 4% after Christmas. We expect our case counts to increase through the week. We were concerned to learn that there were several New Year’s Eve parties in town. We are currently investigating whether an asymptomatic COVID-19 positive guest(s) was in attendance at one or more events. We are working closely with Golden Pond and Fairview Estates. BOH January 4, 2021-REMOTE MEETING Minutes Page ​4 Approved January 25, 2021 We are also supporting all of the local businesses in Hopkinton that have reported one or more cases. Generally speaking, our businesses have been proactive and we haven’t identified any workplace to patron spread. School contacts and cases continue to consume a large portion of our time. The new per diem nurses and college students have done a great job at assisting us. To date, we have no evidence of student spread within the school. We released the attestation software. It is working at reducing the risk within the schools. With the per diem staff, we are relying less on the CTC for contact tracing. We continue to assess our needs and will add to our list of volunteers as we near the time for COVID-19 vaccination. We are partnering with the Towns of Ashland, Westborough, Northborough, Southborough and Sherborne to vaccinate the first responders next week. We are awaiting further detail from the MDPH. We are also awaiting detail on the rollout of Phase 2 vaccinations. ADJOURN​: Vice Chairman Jacobs motioned to adjourn the Board of Health Meeting at 6:45p.m. Mr. King seconded. Role Call: Chairman Whittemore-Yes, Vice Chairman Jacobs-Yes, Mr. King-Yes. Respectfully Submitted, Nidia Ruberti LaRoche Health Department Administrative Assistant BOH January 4, 2021-REMOTE MEETING Minutes Page ​5 Approved January 25, 2021