Board of Health
Meeting Minutes for July 12, 2010
** NOT APPROVED
The following Board members were in attendance: Dr. Rajan Gulati, Sherry Herdman, Dr. Leo Cusumano, and Doug Burdick.
Others in attendance were Lori Ballengee, Laurie Hennessy,
Tom Hull, Theresa Moore, Maxine Warner, Karen Flanders, Fred Sinclair,
Board members absent were, Dr. Willard Simons and Tim LaFever.
The meeting was called to order by Board of Health President Dr. Leo Cusumano at 7:03pm.
A motion was made by Sherry Herdman to approve the minutes from the April 5th meeting. This motion was seconded by Dr. Gulati. Motion carried.
Since there were many people in attendance to the meeting, everyone introduced themselves.
Maxine Warner, Family Planning Health Educator discussed some educational materials which were given to the Board of Health for their review and approval. The educational materials were pamphlets on talking with your teen or preteen about HIV/AIDS, Emergency Contraception also known as Plan B and a business card to give to teens telling them about Family Planning Clinics and the emergency contraception. These pamphlets will be used to educate teens on the Health Department’s Family Planning programs and clinics and let them know what services are available to them. The Board of Health gave their approval for using the pamphlets and handing them out to teens.
Theresa Moore, Supervising Public Health Educator, presented
a power point presentation on the Annual Community Health Assessment for
2010-2013. She presented information on
county population, income status, education, housing, dental health, maternal
and child health, chronic diseases, injury control, communicable disease,
etc. The three priority prevention
agenda areas selected by the
Public Works would like to eventually move their office and
work site to the D.P.W. stockpile area on
Page 2 Board of Health Minutes 7-12-2010
The Board of Health agreed they would like Karen Flanders
and
Laurie Hennessy reported she is waiting to have an audit performed by the State Department of Health on the LHCSA (Licensed Health Care Services Agency) program. The nurses are continuing to do baby visits and visit new mothers.
In the Lead program, employees are starting to send out educational materials to parents with children who have a blood lead level of 5. No action is required by NYS guidelines until the child’s blood lead level is 10. By sending out educational materials to parents when children’s blood lead levels have not reached alarmingly high levels, parents can make environmental changes and nutritional changes to reduce lead exposure to their children and in turn lower their children’s blood lead levels.
In regards to communicable diseases, there has been one case of legionella and 13 pneumonia cases were reported in one weekend.
Laurie H. would like to go to Manor Hills to hold a clinic and administer TDap and Pneumovax immunizations in the near future. She would also like to hold an immunization clinic at the Wellsville Family Planning Clinic site and offer TDap and Pneumovax to the public
Laurie Hennessey would like to try to reach young people and educate them about sexually transmitted diseases by handing out cards to people after they have received a vaccination. The card would give them free admission to a local restaurant/bar to listen to the band but more importantly advertise the Health Department’s family planning clinics, gardisil vaccine etc. Board of Health members were agreeable to the idea. Laurie H. will attempt to find an establishment that will work with the Health Department in this regard. This idea originated at the Quality Improvement Committee meeting in June.
Lori Ballengee presented the fluoride survey results
received from local dentists and physicians.
This fluoride survey was looking at the addition of fluoride in water in
the towns of Wellsville and Scio and if it is beneficial or not. The response was overwhelmingly in favor of
adding fluoride to the water. The Board
of Health determined they would like some further statistics before moving
ahead with the results. The Board would
like to see the caries rate in Wellsville and Scio in comparison to the rest of
the communities in
Lori reported on the visit from Dr. Daines who is the Commissioner for the New York State Department of Health. Dr. Daines gave Allegany County Department of Health a glowing review and gave the Health Department an award for their work in immunizing the public with the H1N1 vaccine.
A motion was made to by Sherry Herdman and seconded by Dr. Gulati to elect Dr. Leo Cusumano for President of the Board of Health for 2010-11 year. Motion carried.
For the office of Vice President a motion was made by Dr. Cusumano and seconded by Dr. Gulati to elect Tim LaFever . Motion carried.
Page 3 Board of Health Minutes 7-12-2010
Lori indicated to the Board of Health she would like to begin a Community Health Wellness Program. A pilot program could begin at the Health Department clinic and be staffed by existing nurses. However, she indicated a need to have a community educator on board to provide the essential educational/behavioral component. She would like to incorporate screenings such as blood pressure, BMI (body mass index), blood glucose levels, etc. along with educational materials and counseling.
Some public health equipment has been purchased such as digital scales and glucometers. Dr. Cusumano suggested we do A1C tests along with Vitamin D screenings. A patient utilizing the Community Health Wellness program would be screened and referred to a physician for follow-up if necessary. Dr. Cusumano suggested we have a registered dietician on board to help with nutritional guidance. The Board members agreed this would be an excellent program to pursue.
The Board of Health decided to hold their Christmas dinner meeting on December 6, 2010.
The Board of Health went into executive session to discuss past and previous employment history. The Board came out of executive session and a motion was made by Sherry Herdman, seconded by Dr. Cusumano to support and recommend the hiring of a Community Health Educator. There were 3 yes votes and 1 no vote.
The next Board of Health meeting is scheduled for September 13, 2010 at 7:00pm.
With no further business to come before the board, the meeting was adjourned at 9:15pm.
Respectfully Submitted,
Janet Norris