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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1979-01-08HANCOCK HOUSE NURSING HOME BOARD OF HEALTH MEETING JANUARY 8, 1979 The regular meeting of the Board of Health was held Monday, January 8, 1979 at 7:00 P.M. in Room G-15 of the Town Office Building. Members present were: Dr. William L. Cosgrove, Chairman; James W. Lambie, Dr. Michael S. Erdos and George A. Smith, Director of Public Health . Minutes of the December 4, 1978 meeting were approved as typed. Mr. James Hagarty, representative of the First American Banks and Savings which is the holder of the first mortgage of the Hancock House Nursing Home came before the Board to explain what the bank planned to do with the Nursing Home. He went on to explain that the bank took possession of the facility on October 16, 1978 and has operated the facility since that date with the intent of foreclosure. Mr. Smith said his concern was that we had had several complaints in the past regarding this facility. He said he had been working with Mrs. Munroe, the nurse -director of the facility and some of the problems had been corrected but others still exist. At the present time the State seems to be concerned with the staffing and patient care not up to their require- ments. He said he was concerned with conditions in the indigent ward and that was where most of the complaints came from regarding odors, etc. The reason he asked Mr. Hegarty to come in before the Board was to find out what we can expect in the future. He said we have taken no action on the renewal application until we know what is going to happen. Mr. Hegarty said he understood this concern and he then explained that usually when the bank steps in and takes over a facility of this naute it usually requires a great deal of work to be done. He went on to make it clear that the bank was not in the nursing home business but it was to their advantage to upgrade the facility while it was in their possession. He went on to explain that they were experiencing staffing problems but they would continue to try to get adequate staffing to comply with the State requirements. The State survey team has just completed their report so the bank has started to correct any deficiencies which have been cited. Dr. Erdos asked if this upgrading would bring this facility to a level three and Mr. Hegarty said "Yes". Dr. Erdos asked when the bank would take possession and Mr. Hegarty said they were there now that was the law. Mr. Hegarty said Mrs. Munroe was in charge of the nursing at the facility. Mr. Smith said Mrs. Munroe had always done a good job even though she has been working under duress. Mr. Hegarty said they had been working trying to upgrade the facility and replacing some of the physical equipment before the State came in to inspect. Mr. Smith said both the Fire & Building Departments have made their inspections and found everything okay. The Board and Mr. Hegarty went over the letter written by Mr. Smith Ize aiding the v .01,A1 ions he had °.found on his ispuctiou. Mr. Smith said a re -inspection showed most of these items corrected and he felt that most of the problems were from under staffing. There is still some areas that need cor- rection but that is no big problem. Mr. Hegarty said he would like to invite the Board to go over the facility and make any suggestions they might have. After further discussion the Board thanked Mr. Hegarty for coming in. The changes of the subdivision entitled "Willow Ridge" was presented to the Board. Mr. Smith said they had changed the street from a "cul de sac" to 'ILLO a hammer head. The engineering department has stated that the water, sewer RIDGE and drainace was satisfactory. Mr. Smith said that there will be about six SUBDIVISIOI houses on the north side which will not be able to have basement fixtures because the basements will be too low. He went on to say that he would men- tion these things when he wrote his report for plan approval to the building department. The Cambridge Farm subdivision was again discussed due to the concern re- CAMBRIDGE garding one lot expressed at the December meeting. Mr. Smith said the de- FARM veloper had not submitted a new plan as yet but at this time they are cutting out one lot which will change the layout of the lots. He went on to say that this subdivision will be on public sewer and he could see no problems. Mr. Smith reported to the Board that he=has finally found the one system FREEMONT that is leaching into the drain. The owner of this home has been ordered to STREET connect to public sewer as soon as the Town will allow. Mr. Smith reported that the developer for Lot 7 in the Thyme Farm sub- division wants to put in shallow pits but in order to approve this lot he will. THYME have to put in another pit to equal 150 square feet of leaching area. He FARM cautioned the Board that this developer must be watched because he is very apt to change the location of the house on the lot after the location of the septic system has been approved. The Board approved this plan with the ad- dition of a larger pit. Mr. Smith explained that the State Department of Environmental Engineering E.P.A. has had a program whereby if you had a body of water, lake or stream that brook, etc needed cleaning or treatment for aquatic plants you could apply to them and cleaning they would pay to have this cleaning done. They have notified us that if we have this problem we must try every available source to get this condition cleaned up before applying to them. Mr. Smith further explained to the Board that we have never used this program but we do have to treat the "Old Res" for algae from time to time. He said the reason he had this on the agenda was so that the Board would be aware of this restriction. POOL - Mr. Smith reported that the semi-public swimming pool at Minute Man Con- MINUTE diminimums had not been approved to operate last summer. He had told the owner MAN that the back wash must be connected to public sewer and Mr. DiMatteo, Building CONDO'S Commissioner, said he did notAave to, also the fence is not acceptable as yet. Dr. Cosgrove said Mr. Smith should send a letter to the owner of the Condo - minimums stating what has to be done and he should also send a letter to the Building Commissioner stating what must be done to have the semi-public pools meet the Board of Health Regulations, Article VI of the Environmental Code. Mr. Smith reported that Burroughs Corporation had cleared the Conservation BURROUGHS Commission and now their application for sewer connection was before the State. INC. Conservation will not allow them to use the existing sleeve so they will have SEBIER to make a new connection which might be less expensive than trying to locate the sleeve. This work must be done this Spring because the State is going to resurface Route 2 and they rule that a roadway cannot be disturbed for a certain number of years after resurfacing. BY-LAW Mr. Smith reported he had written a. letter to Mrs. Battin, Chairman of ADDITION the Board of Selectmen, stating that although the Health Department receives numerous complaints relative to the dumping of trash and debris in the brooks and drains throughout Town they had no regulations to cover this violation. He suggested that if the Town adopted a By -Law regarding these violations it would give other departments, such as Conservation, Police, etc. a chance to enforce the law. Be said he would rather share the responsibilities of this problem. The Board approved this action. Mr. Smith reported that most of the restaurant inspections were very RESTAURANT good this year. He went on to say the problems he encountered in his in- spections were minor and most of them are being corrected. CATALDO'S DUMP PERMIT MEETING Dr. Cosgrove asked if Mr. Smith rated any of the restaurants. Mr. Smith said "no" he felt that was hard to do unless you could inspect these establishments every month. A good rating four or five months old would give the people a false security. The renewal of the dump permit for Ralph Cataldo's landfill operation at 61 Bow Street was signed by the Board. This permit is renewed until September 1979. Mr. Smith suggested that the Board when and if this permit was renewed after September take a good hard look at the situation because of the change it could make to the wetlands. Mr. Smith reported that the Lexington -Sheraton Motor Inn and also Wild Acre Inn was shaping up. Dr. Erdos announced that the February meeting of the Northeast Association of the Boards of Health would be held on Wednesday, February 7th at Peking Gardens. The speaker for this meeting will be Dr. Charrette and his topic for this meeting will be "Medical Aspects of International Travel". Dr. Erdos said he would be pleased to have Lexington well represented. The following permits were signed by the Board: Syringe Permit - Micro -Bit Corp. Reatail Food Establishment Permit - Mother Earth Hotel Licenses: Catch Penny Chalet Motor Lodge, 440 Bedford St. Sheraton -Lexington Motor Inn Installer's Permits: Dave Eagle-Arlex Corp. Suburbanite Cesspool Service, Inc. A. A. Cesspool Co. L. M. Carroll Defelice Bros.