Board of Health
Meeting Minutes from April 5, 2010
** NOT APPROVED **
The following Board Members
were in attendance: Timothy Lafever, Dr.
Rajan Gulati, Dr. Leo Cusumano, and Douglas Burdick.
Medical Advisor Dr.
Christopher Depner was in attendance.
Others in attendance were
Lori Ballengee, Tom Hull, Laurie Hennessy and Madelyn Thornton.
Absent were Dr. Willard
Simons, and Sherry Herdman.
Madelyn Thornton, Case
Manager for Cancer Services of Allegany and Cattaraugus Counties and the
Quality Assurance Coordinator for the Allegany County Department of Health was
introduced to the Board of Health.
The meeting was called to
order by Board President Dr. Cusumano at 6:58PM.
A motion was made by Tim
LaFever to approve the minutes from the February 5, 2010 meeting and seconded
by Dr. Gulati. Motion Carried.
Lori Ballengee indicated
Wellsville and Scio currently have fluoridated water supplies. It was noted this practice is really
outdated. Wellsville and Scio may be encouraged
to discontinue this practice by the Board of Health. There has been a long time debate about
whether fluoridation has any real impact on improving dental health. It was noted that fluoridation is really
expensive to maintain. The Board of
Health decided to have the Allegany County Department of Health send out a
survey letter to all of Dentists in
A copy of the Health
Department’s 2009 Annual Report was given to the Board members for their review
several weeks ahead of the meeting.
Lori noted over 7000 H1N1 vaccinations were given to the public last
year. Health Department staff was able
to vaccinate more than double the patients with zero dollars extra paid to
staff. The public health educators
played a very important role in this outcome by educating the public of the
need to receive this vaccination and with public service announcements on the
radio and in the newspapers regarding clinic times, sites etc.
The final 2009 budget figures for the Health
Department showed it as being $161,052 over budgeted revenues and $950,287
under budgeted expenses.
Doug Burdick questioned the
difference in the figures from 2008 and 2009 in regard to the expenses for the
preschool program. Lori noted B.O.C.E.S.
has been more current with their payments and submitting their rates as one
possible explanation for some of these differences.
Lori mentioned Dr. Richard Daines,
the Commissioner of Health for
He also will be giving our
Health Department an award for administering H1N1 Influenza vaccine to county
residents. He is making a tour of all
the County Health Departments in
Dr. Cusumano agreed to
continue on as a Board of Health member for another term. His current term expires on July 7,
2010. Lori will present this information
to the Board of Legislators for their approval.
Tom Hull presented
information to the Board of Health on the new Tanning Regulations. The Human Services committee chose to
“opt-in” to this program during its meeting on March 3, 2010, meaning the
Health Department will manage and administer this new State Sanitary Code
requirement within
Tom Hull informed the Board
of Health about the Clean Indoor Air Enforcement Action with The Herbert W.
Delong Post 808 American Legion located in
A discussion was held in
regards to the proposal of putting a water supply at the Landfill site. A proposal has been made to move the Public
Works offices located in the
Tom noted in a recent Human
Services meeting a complaint had been made by an employee about cigarette smoke
entering the building from smokers outside entranceways to the County
Courthouse Building, and that this smoke was aggravating this persons
allergies. There were also 4 or 5 additional complaints received
from other county employees about this same issue. Tom asked if the Board of Health would like to
set a policy on smoking by employees on the
Laurie Hennessy asked the
Board of Health if they would approve a standing order for Allegany ARC to
obtain Tubersol and syringes from the Health Department for PPD Testing at
their facility. This is a standing order
that has been approved annually by the Board of Health for several years. A motion was made by Dr. Cusumano to approve
the standing order. Dr. Gulati seconded
the motion. Motion carried.
Laurie reported the nurses
were making baby visits from referrals by hospitals and from birth
certificates. Laurie also reported we
have one TB patient who no longer is under directly observed therapy for home
visits but the patient is called on a nearly (M-F) basis. The patient’s sputum test came back negative.
The patient is back to work.
Laurie Hennessy indicated
she would like to be able to do Qauntaferon Blood Tests on TB patients.
Laurie presented the sliding
fee scale for Lead Testing. NYS law
indicates we cannot charge for patients who are at the 200% poverty level. A motion was made by Dr. Depner to approve
the sliding fee scale for Lead Testing.
The motion was seconded by Dr. Gulati and motion was carried. Laurie has updated the policy and procedure
guide for the year. The Health
Department will begin using the Lead Care II machine for testing in half day
clinics. If a reading of 8 or above then
a follow-up venipuncture is recommended.
We are currently testing 50% of the eligible children in the county. The Health Department’s goal is to reach 70%
to 80% of all eligible children.
Physicians in
Laurie reported the Health
Department can administer Hepatitis A and B at no charge for adults. (Insurance is not a factor). The Health Department is promoting the
administration of these vaccinations and would like to give these vaccinations
to restaurant workers and school employees. Laurie noted if a group of 10 or
more at a site would like the vaccine, the Health department would go to the
site. Under an ARRA grant, Zostavax, TDap, HPV and
Pneumovax will soon be available and can also be administered at no cost. (Insurance is not a factor). HPV can now be given to males. The administration of HPV is currently being given
to males and females in the Health Department’s Family Planning Clinics and
immunization clinic.
Laurie presented to the
Board of Health a contract for the Health Department to become an in-network
provider with Today’s Options. Many
seniors who receive their influenza shots through the Health Department carry
this insurance and this would benefit these patients as well as the Health
Department.
Laurie also presented a
contract from United Health Care to become an in-network provider with
them. Many of our Early Intervention
children would benefit from our contracting with United Health Care. A motion was made by Dr. Cusumano to sign the
contracts with Today’s Options and United Health Care to become in-network
providers with these insurance carriers.
Tim LaFever seconded the motion.
Motion carried.
Laurie asked the Board of
Health for their approval of a policy for the receptionist to be able to hand
out dental dams and condoms to patients who request them. A motion was made by Dr. Gulati to approve
the policy and have the receptionist hand out the dental dams and condoms to
patients who request them. This motion
was seconded by Tim LaFever. Motion
carried.
Madelyn Thornton presented
information on Komen Kares and indicated the Health Department just received a
grant for $39,000.00. Komen Kares program assists women with breast cancer. This program is able to assist with things
such as gas cards for their trips to chemotherapy, for the purchase of
prosthetic devices and wigs and assisting with co-pays. Madelyn indicated they would be starting a
support group this year.
Madelyn also spoke about
Cancer Services of Allegany and
Madelyn reported on what she
has been working on in regards to Quality Assurance for the Health
Department. An occurrence screen was
created which has a list of events. When
one of these events occurs, such as an incorrect procedure or a policy was not
followed, these events are tracked and
if necessary a corrective action plan will be developed to prevent reoccurrence
in the future. She is in the process of developing
a checklist for documentation of well baby/mother visits. Madelyn is looking at standardizing packets
to give to these new mothers. Madelyn is
working with Janet Norris to develop a spreadsheet for credentialing and proper
documentation of physicals, PPD’s etc.
Laurie Hennessy stated she
is adding H1N1 and Seasonal Influenza vaccinations in the NYSIIS program. She reported a child less than 2 years of age
was given the nasal influenza vaccine in error.
Patient’s parent or guardian put down the wrong date of birth on the
paperwork. All the H1N1 and seasonal flu
vaccines that were uploaded to CDMS have not been put into NYSIIS by NYS. This is now being done manually but may take
several months. There may be more errors
found as these are put into NYSIIS. Laurie
reported a Medicaid billing problem. The
employee did not enter correct information which is technically considered
fraud. In six different instances this
employee billed incorrectly. Billing
tasks have been relieved of this employee.
The Board fully understands the liability involved with this activity,
and Dr. Cusumano recommended we use Medent for billing and will refer his
representative to the Health Department.
With no further business to
discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 8:35pm.
The next Board of Health
Meeting is scheduled for June 7, 2010.
Respectfully Submitted
Janet E. Norris